Alone
by Selenity Jade
Summary: NEW Chapter! Usagi gets tired of being treated like a stupid, heartbroken kid. She finally shows the Senshi and Mamoru her true self. Soon, she'll learn the true meaning of being alone and must fight to save them all.
1. Prologue

**Alone**  
_Prologue  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG_

**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon is not mine. I'm broke; don't sue!

**Beta:** Lynz – Thank You!

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi (Darien/Serena for you dubbies)

**AN:** 03/04/08 – Well guys, I posted up my DBZ fic A Saiyajin's Heart again after a slight edit (some sites didn't have it for some reason) and now I'm onto reading and correcting bits of this fic. Then when_that_ is done, I will do nothing more than complete this fic. Yes, that is my goal for those of you threatening me still. I will edit all the chapters I have so far, and then I will update it until it's done. Completed. I'll try not to be as evil in this as I was in ASH.

**Warning:** This fic is very, very old and my writing has grown since then. But I can't change _too_ much of this fic or I'll end up with an AU of an AU, and that's just silly. So forgive the corniness and OOCness that I wince to even read now.

xxx

"Get over it!" the fiery priestess yelled at her cowering friend.

"But, Rei-chan-" the girl began before being cut off.

"No buts, Usagi! Get over it! Move on! It's not the end of the world! Get it through your thick head; you and Mamoru-san are over!" Rei cried out in frustration. "He doesn't love you. Get over it! We are all tired of hearing his name. We're tired of your crying and whining! Just get over it! You are driving all of us nuts! 'Mamo-chan' this and 'Mamo-chan' that," Rei mimicked with a glare at her blonde friend.

"You are a worthless excuse for a princess and warrior. Move on! It's real simple," Rei said hatefully.

Sighing in defeat, Usagi looked down at the grass. She knew she should get over it. She knew that. She'd tried; she honestly tried. What more did Rei and the others want her to do? She just couldn't move on. And they didn't understand.

"Fine, Rei-chan," Usagi began. She then looked up into her friend's violet eyes. "You win," she said almost silently and quickly left the temple.

When the cool autumn air hit her face, she quickly started to run. She wanted to run away from the cruel words her friend had thrown at her. The tears that streamed down her smooth cheeks went unnoticed by the fleeing blonde. She didn't know where she was escaping to, only that she had to get as far away as possible. She couldn't stand it anymore. First abandoned by Mamoru, then her friends pushed her away just when she needed them most.

She knew she should move on. She knew that, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't forget him. He was always in her heart. He was never far from her thoughts. It didn't help that she saw him everywhere, all the time. As Tuxedo Kamen, he kept coming to fights saving her, yet still saying the same words repeatedly. _I don't love you,_ he'd say, the words echoing painfully in her soul. And he cared so much for Chibi-Usa, was always looking out for the pink-haired girl, so Usagi ended up seeing a lot of him.

A sharp pain stitched in her side as she continued to run as fast as her slender legs would take her. Thoughts of Chibi-Usa always made her angry. She was nothing more than a little spoiled brat. A brat who cared for no one but herself. Sure, Usagi loved the kid. Chibi-Usa was very important to the teenager, but she couldn't help the anger that overcame her whenever the little child came near Mamoru.

And to make it all worse, the little girl was always causing trouble. Always running off, never caring that anyone would be worried or hurt while looking for her. She had to admit that more than a part of her was jealous of Chibi-Usa. Chibi-Usa had what she did not. Mamoru's concern and love. She had him wrapped around her finger and he wouldn't even talk to Usagi. It made her heart ache just looking at the little pink haired girl, always reminded that something about her was more important to him. And part of her hated that little girl.

Guilt always followed that thought. She loved Chibi-Usa, too. She didn't want any harm to ever come to anyone, least of all an innocent little child.

It was all so painful and confusing! She didn't understand why Mamoru continually decided that he knew what was best for her. She didn't understand why he had to hide things from her! He loved her; she could have sworn that he did. Yet why was he doing this? It didn't make sense to her at all. He had changed overnight and it left her in agony.

Suddenly, Usagi realized where she was. The park. Slowing to a walk, her ragged breaths softly breaking the silence. She moved on towards the gardens, where she often went when she was hurting or troubled. The roses there always soothed her hurts and fears with their beautiful colors and sweet scent. It was always peaceful, which was so unlike her life. The gardens were the only place she could go that was never disturbed by being Sailor Moon or the Moon Princess. Here, she had no destiny. She was allowed to be just an ordinary girl.

An ordinary, heartbroken teenager.

Reaching her destination, she walked leisurely among the roses. A sea of roses spread out around her. Red, pink, yellow, white, all colors imaginable stood out against the greenery. Closing her eyes, Usagi deeply breathed in the sweet scent. Her mouth curved into a slight smile as she lost herself in that scent. Nothing could quite compare to the aroma of roses.

Suddenly, the blonde opened her eyes. Mamo-chan smelled of roses. Feeling as though she had been hit in the stomach, Usagi fell to her knees on the cold grass. Sobs wracked her slender body as tears fell continuously from her deep blue eyes.

It always led back to Mamoru. Always. Every thought, every action, every object reminded her of her Mamo-chan. How was she supposed to move on when her heart wouldn't let her? How was she supposed to forget how much she loved him? How much he had loved her?

"Mamo-chan…" she whimpered quietly. "Why?" she asked the empty gardens. Why must she love him so much? Why must she keep thinking of him? Why can't she just forget? Forget all of the pain? Yet she knew she couldn't, because she would then have to forget the good times. The sweet smile he used to give her. The way his eyes had lit up every time he saw her. She'd have to forget the way his eyes had looked when he gazed at her with such love.

She treasured each memory she had of him. Each time he had held her hand when they were shopping. Each time he had whispered in her ear, telling her how beautiful she was, how wonderful she was. They used to cuddle on the couch talking about each other's lives, sharing the other's sorrows. She treasured all of her memories with him.

She also dreaded those memories now. Every night, when she closed her eyes, they would play through her mind, tormenting her. She learned to dread going to sleep. No matter the memory – good or bad – she would end up awake for hours, crying bitterly at the loss of such bliss. Or she would cry over the painful memories, the memory of being pushed away, abandoned, and left all alone.

She would end up getting only a few hours of sleep – if she slept at all. And even then, her sleep was filled with dreams. Dreams of him. Sometimes, they were wonderful dreams of being with him again. Being in his arms and being loved again. Yet each morning she'd wake up with a smile only to have it quickly disappear as she realized it was only a dream. Then the pain would begin again.

Other nights, she had nightmares. He'd leave her repeatedly in them. She'd wake up, tears streaming down her face. How was she supposed to move on when even her dreams were filled with him?

She missed him horribly. Every moment of every day, she wished he had been there. Every time she was out with the girls, she'd think_Mamo-chan would hate this..._ or _Mamo-chan would love this..._ Each moment, she was reminded of the cold space next to her that used to be occupied by his warmth. She missed the way he laughed. The way he would wink at her in such a way to let her know he loved her. She missed the words, too. The way he said things with feeling. If he meant it, he said it with such emotion behind them that it was impossible to doubt.

Hugging herself, Usagi began to rock herself unconsciously. She felt so alone now. Even her friends had abandoned her, but she couldn't bring herself to feel the sharp pain of that betrayal. She already hurt too much to feel much more. It was only a dull ache compared to everything else she was going through.

She remembered how, when any little thing bothered her, just being around her Mamo-chan made it all seem unimportant. Sometimes, it seemed they were the only people in the universe. She had to admit to herself a little guiltily, that she had begun to feel that he was all that mattered anymore. She cared for her friends and family sure, but Mamo-chan was her everything. The reason she breathed. The reason she lived. The reason she fought at all.

Usagi lay down in the soft grass, curled into a ball. She found that she couldn't stop sobbing. The tears kept falling. Falling for what was lost. What could have been. For herself. She wanted him back more than anything in the world. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to destroy his self-sacrificing actions. She couldn't tell him she knew about the dreams! She couldn't tell him that it didn't matter to her whether she died, as long as she had him. She knew he'd only push her away again, forcing her away because he loved her above his own happiness, supposedly. So, she would stay away, no matter how much it hurt to wonder if maybe he hadn't loved her like she believed he had. After all, if he had loved her, wouldn't he have trusted her with those fears of his?

It was tearing him up inside, she could see that, and it worried her. But she couldn't very well go up and try to help him. He'd reject her again and she didn't know if she could survive much more of his harsh words. So many times, she had wanted to go to him, to call him, anything. Yet, she held back. After he had rejected her so many times, she couldn't do it again. She just couldn't bring herself to risk the pain anymore.

The pain. It never left her. It stayed with her continuously. Every moment she was aware of her loss, her broken heart. Her shattered soul. Every moment her mind was on him. She couldn't help talking about him. She couldn't help it. If that was all she thought about, then it was all she talked about. She felt terrible for annoying her friends so much, but she had tried to think of other things. Like the new enemies. She couldn't focus. She just couldn't concentrate. She couldn't help it.

Usagi felt it within her soul that she belonged with him. He was her soul mate. It was torture to be so close to him, but in reality, they might as well have been galaxies apart. She saw him but she wasn't allowed to hold him, kiss him, or love him. She had tried so hard to put up a brave front and not show how much she was hurting. But she knew she couldn't keep it up forever. She was dying a little bit at a time. Everyday it was harder to get up. Everything was shear willpower now. Breathing, eating, sleeping, fighting. And she didn't know why she even bothered continuing with anything. Not when it didn't seem to matter to her friends or Mamoru any longer.

She knew she was being unfair, she knew why Mamoru chose to push her away. She knew her friends cared for her, but they didn't understand the pain this separation was bringing her, or why it was so hard for her to stop crying about him.

She almost hated her life now. Never before had she felt so... desolate. Now, it all seemed meaningless and worthless. All of it. Her entire life wasn't worth the effort anymore. Why fight for truth and justice when she couldn't bring herself to even believe in it anymore? She knew her friends would be shocked to learn of the darkness within her thoughts. That wasn't the Usagi they knew. But the Usagi they knew was dying. All that would be left would be an empty shell. None of them cared enough to see it. None of them wanted to see it.

When Mamoru had left her, she had lost everything. She had lost her joy, her happiness, and her life. Her life before him hadn't been meaningful. She had been empty then, too. Her soul had known it was missing a part of it. Her soul, the soul of Princess Serenity had cried out for her Endymion. Throughout her life, Usagi had known something was missing. Then, she'd found Mamoru. Even when they hadn't known who the other was, she'd felt whole when he was near. Whole like she had never been before in this life. She had unconsciously called out in her heart for him. She'd thought their souls were intertwined for all time.

_Apparently not,_ she thought bitterly. _Not when simple dreams can cause him to hurt me so._ His answer to her danger was to have nothing to do with her.

Gods, how that hurt. She knew he loved her, though it was times like these she wasn't so sure, but she _knew_ he did. He loved her. And at one time, that was enough. She didn't know what changed. She didn't understand when they were both so happy and complete, why he'd suddenly stop trusting her, stop confiding in her, and push her away.

How many times had that thought plagued her? Ten times? A hundred? A thousand? It all came back to that. Usagi's sobbing slowed as she rolled over to lie on her back. She looked up at the night sky. Stars twinkled dimly at her from above and the full moon illuminated the heavenly gardens. Tears still shimmered faintly on her cheeks and in her eyes.

Truthfully, she worried about him. She was worried about the lifelessness he gave off now. He seemed to be in trouble, yet she could do nothing about it. He was too proud to accept his former girlfriend's help, even if he loved that former girlfriend with his entire being. He wasn't the Mamo-chan she had fallen in love with. He was a shell like she was._Why can't you let _me _make the choice. It is my life! Why can't I choose to be with you, even if it means my death, Mamo-chan?_

xxx

**AN:**Keep in mind Usagi is a young teenagers and first love, especially when you're forced to deal with such deep feelings for someone at such a young age, you're hurt very badly. I _know_ it's obnoxious to listen to her moping to some of you, but some people are... I guess the word is obsessive about it. Everyone has their weaknesses and strengths and one of those I share with my created Usagi is that when I'm heartbroken by love, I also tend to fall to pieces. But give me friendships falling apart, life falling apart, stress, and family drama and I'm fine and can deal and move on. Break my heart and I'm worthless and weak. I can move past grief over someone's death who was close to me, I just love too much romantically.

Think of the suicide rate of teenagers, they feel all these emotions so intently, and we all usually grow out of it or learn to deal with it better. Some people don't handle heartbreak well and my created Usagi is one of them, like I am. It's not that we can't live without a man – obviously I can since I'm still alive here – it's that when pain comes from being betrayed or abandoned, we fall to pieces. Like all the stored up emotional pain only comes out then. People think I don't care about other people because I don't get upset over much. But break my heart and I am worthless.

So no, this doesn't indicate she's weak-willed, just that romantic emotional pain left by Mamoru – the man she's loved in _two_ lifetimes (think how deep their feelings are) – completely destroys her.

Don't worry, this is just the start of the fic and it'll get more active later on!

Japanese:

-chan: usually used for small children and girls.

Lovies!


	2. Chapter One: Changes

**Alone**  
_Chapter One: Changes  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: M_

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Really! I promise!

**Beta:** Lynz – Thank You.

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** 03/04/08 – Updated

xxx

Usagi gently shut the front door and turned to walk up the stairs as quietly as possible. Midnight was passed her curfew and her father was sure to be very angry. She tiptoed passed her parents' bedroom, relieved to hear her father's loud snoring through the closed door. She entered her own room quietly, hoping Luna wasn't awake. She'd get a scolding from her cat as well. She sighed as she closed her door.

"Where have you been, Usagi?" an irritated voice demanded.

Usagi jumped and whirled around to face the angry feline, her face stained with tears. "I'm sorry, Luna," she began.

"Usagi, what's the matter?" Luna asked, suddenly no longer angry once she got a good look at her charge.

"Nothing, Luna, I just fell and started crying as usual. You know me," she mumbled as she stripped off her dirty clothing.

"Don't lie to me, Usagi-chan," Luna chided gently and jumped off the bed, padding softly over to her charge. "You look like you've been crying for hours. Is it Mamoru-san again?"

Usagi pulled on her pink pajamas before answering. "Sort of, Luna. I don't really want to-"

"Usagi-chan, it'll help. Sometimes it helps to talk," Luna told her soothingly.

Usagi smiled faintly before turning off the light and crawling into bed. "I suppose so, Luna. I just don't know where to begin, you know?"

Luna jumped onto her Princess' bed and curled up on her stomach, purring softly. "I know," she soothed.

"You understand, don't you? About Mamo-chan, I mean. You understand why it hurts me so, don't you?" Usagi begged the cat.

"Of course, Usagi-chan. I know it hurts and it'll keep on hurting for quite a long time. He is the man you love, Princess. It will always hurt, because you loved him in this time, as well as your past life. You've had two lifetimes to love him, of course it hurts. Why?"

Usagi sighed and closed her eyes. "The Senshi yelled at me today. They told me to 'just get over it'! Like I can make my heart stop hurting! I can't, Luna. I just can't stop hurting. Don't you think I would have done it long ago if I were able? I don't enjoy crying all the time. I don't enjoy feeling useless, worthless, alone, and afraid. I don't like the hole inside of me. I hate being this way! If I could stop it, I would! Why can't they understand, Luna? Why do they have to hurt me even more than I already do?"

Luna sighed. "I'm sorry, Princess. They don't understand sometimes. They just think it's normal to get over it, like Makoto's crushes. They don't quite grasp that it isn't a teenage crush or simple infatuation. And they miss their ditsy and happy Usagi-chan. They are irritated they can't help you and they don't understand why. They took their frustrations out on you and, although it was wrong of them, they couldn't help it. They aren't wise enough yet to know why you hurt so much, Princess. They don't like seeing you in so much pain and they got angry. I'll talk to them," she announced softly.

"No. Don't talk to them. I told them they wouldn't have to hear another word about it. It's fine. I'll deal with it," she murmured. _Just like all my other fears and pains. Just like all my secrets that they can never know._

"Usagi-chan," Luna began before the door opened.

Usagi looked over noticing a little pink head appearing and smiled faintly at her guest. "Chibi-Usa-chan, what are you doing up?"

The little girl walked lightly into the room, closing the door behind her. She looked down at her feet before answering. "I heard you come in." The child looked at her feet a moment, hesitating before speaking again. "And I heard what the girls said to you earlier," she whispered.

Grimacing, Usagi motioned her 'cousin' into her bed with her. "Don't worry about it, little one."

"It isn't right!" the little pink-haired child exclaimed angrily. "I know I tease you and all, but they shouldn't have been so mean!"

Usagi grinned at the vehemence of her future daughter. "It's okay, Chibi-Usa. It may not be right but they don't know everything, correct? Unless I were to inform them, they won't know everything for quite awhile. I'll just have to put up with it for now."

"It isn't right!" she repeated angrily. "You are their Princess and the future Queen! They have _no_ right to speak to you like that. I saw it all, Mama! It hurt you so much," she trailed off.

Usagi hugged her tightly. "Thanks, sweetie. I'm okay. They don't know about the future Queen stuff yet or about you. They don't understand. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"

The young girl nodded sadly. "Mama, why is Mamo-chan being that way to you? Daddy loves you; it has to hurt him as much as you! In the future, you two would die if separated. You have a bond. I just don't know how he can do this to you!"

Usagi closed her eyes before she started to cry again. "I don't know, sweetie. He thinks his dreams are the truth, I think, and cares about me too much. I don't know and I can't let him know I know about the dreams, not yet. It hurts so much," she said softly, choking on the words as she fought back another tirade of tears.

The pink-haired little girl hugged her future mother tightly. "I know, Mama. Can we just tell him? Please? Can't we tell him where I come from, who I am?"

Usagi smiled faintly and shook her head. "Sorry, Chibi-Usa-chan, but no. He can't know. Not yet."

The little girl sighed and curled tighter into her mother's embrace. "Okay, Mama. You always know what's best for everyone."

The older girl giggled a little. "Yes. For everyone but me."

xxx

"You remember what I told you?"

"Yes," Chibi-Usa said softly. "I'm to go to Mamo-chan's apartment after school. I'm not allowed to tell him anything. You're going to the Senshi meeting and will pick me up at his apartment after you're done."

Usagi smiled. "Good. Be a good girl for Mamoru, okay? I'll see you tonight." She bent down, hugged the little girl, whispering a quick 'I love you' to her, and took off running to her own school.

"I'm going to be so late," she grumbled to herself, annoyed. She was always late when she took Chibi-Usa to school, but she wouldn't give it up for the world.

She rounded a corner to run straight into a hard, warm wall. Falling backwards, she landed on her butt. She glanced up and immediately regretted it. Her eyes were met by the fierce cobalt glare of her one true love.

"Can't you ever watch where you're going, Odango Atama?" he sneered hatefully.

Usagi kept her face from expressing the wince she felt coming on. _He had to add salt to the already painful wounds, didn't he? Why did he have to be so hurtful and look so good while doing it?_ She sighed inwardly. Her first impulse was to start crying again, but immediately squashed it. She would be strong. She had to be!

"I apologize, Chiba-san," she said, her voice dull. She'd show him she could be just as unemotional as he was. She would do it because she was the Moon Princess and it was in her blood. She knew how to handle uncomfortable situations. She learned from the best: her mother, Queen Serenity. Maybe not in this lifetime, but she had learned it and she remembered every lesson. Another secret only Chibi-Usa knew. She was truly the Princess and it was about time to show it. It was time to give up on the hope that she could be a normal teenager now.

Mamoru gaped at the blonde girl still sitting on the cement at his feet.

Usagi grinned inwardly. "However, I am only 15-years-old and not as accomplished, intelligent, or as graceful as someone of your age and education. You should really give a kid - like me - a break. It is, after all, the polite thing to do." She stood up and brushed herself off. "I'd love to stay and chat, Chiba-san, but I'm running late. That tends to happen when I take my cousin to school every morning. I'll see you when I pick her up at your place tonight. I hope it won't be too much of a bother to see me then, but I really have no other choice. I cannot explain that I have a Senshi meeting to anyone and you are my last option. Good day, Chiba-san." She walked around him and then proceeded to run at a break-neck speed towards her school, leaving a stunned Mamoru gazing after her.

xxx

"I apologize for being late," a breathless Usagi said upon arriving at Rei's temple. She quickly sat down amidst the teenage girls and looked at the scowling priestess.

"What did you do? Get detention again?" she snipped.

Usagi bit back her normal response and smiled condescendingly. "No, Rei. If you must know, I did arrive to school late. I had to walk Chibi-Usa to school and that tends to make me late. But I ended up getting an A on the pop quiz, and Haruna-sensei was so pleased that she let me out of detention. I ran into Chibi-Usa on my way here and she was very upset about something a schoolmate said to her, so I bought her an ice-cream cone to cheer her up. Then I walked her to Chiba-san's apartment. That is why I'm late." Usagi nearly started laughing at the stunned expressions on her friends' faces._That will teach them._

Ami coughed in amusement at the openly gaping face of the Fire Senshi before speaking. "Well, now we can get started. What do we know so far about the Four Sisters?"

As the rest of the Senshi start in on their facts and opinions on the enemy, Usagi sized up her guardians. She thought it was about time to let them in on a few of her secrets. The most important one being that Serenity and Usagi had merged and neither were separate now. She was Serenity as well as Usagi. As confusing as it had been at first, Usagi relished it now. She kept up the act of ditsy teenage girl for long enough. She needed to be who she was now, especially with her future daughter's life at stake. Besides, Mamoru was no longer in the picture and as much it hurt, she couldn't rely on him now. If he chose to belittle her intelligence and her own strength to listen to his dreams, she would have to live with it. Even though they were in love, she didn't think Mamoru saw her as a man saw a woman, not yet. He loved her from the bottom of his soul, she hoped. He just didn't quite grasp the fact that she was a woman and had been one on the moon. He just didn't see beyond the schoolgirl yet. She would have to open his eyes.

She grinned before turning back towards the conversation between the girls and immediately decided enough was enough. They were hacking at complete myth now.

"Girls?" Usagi began quietly. Every eye turned to their leader in shock. Usagi never really participated in Senshi meetings willingly. She supposed it was time to act like a leader in more than just name. "They aren't the real problem. The Four Sisters are being used by the Black Moon family and are lead by a man named Rubeus. They are sent from the future to kidnap Chibi-Usa. Or more likely, the Crystal they think she has. Rubeus is an underling of Prince Diamond, who is in turn being manipulated by the Doom Phantom. He is our problem. The others are, in a word, cake."

The Senshi gaped in astonishment. "How-" Ami began before Usagi cut her off.

"I've decided to let you guys in on something. Although I had seriously thought about telling you all to take a long walk off a short pier after yesterday, I am the Moon Princess and Sailor Moon, and I won't. I have my duties and they are more important. This world is more important than your ignorance or hateful words." Usagi paused to look at each of the Senshi in turn, noticing the completely flabbergasted expressions on their faces. "I am Serenity as well as Usagi. I have the memories of both, the characteristics of both and will forever be that way. Serenity was born as Usagi; the only difference between the two is the name only. And my hair color, which will change sometime soon, I suppose. Chibi-Usa is my future daughter from the 30th Century. She came back here for the Sailor Senshi's help to save my future self. The Doom Phantom wishes to destroy our world and the future world. That is our problem now. My future self is out of this battle as well as the Senshi from that time. We are this world's only hope."

Rei started. "How in the world do you know all of this, Odango Atama?"

Usagi glared at the priestess. "I know much I do not choose to tell you. I know because of who I am. Do you even remember the Silver Millennium?" Rei shook her head slightly. "If you did, you would not ask. I am Princess Serenity and sometime in the future I will become Queen. My mother raised me to be ruler after her and I will be. She raised me to take up her powers and to become who I will be. The Goddess Selene."

xxx

**AN:** Eh, I still wince.

Japanese:

Senshi: Warriors, the Sailor Senshi is what they're called in the anime.

Odango Atama: What Mamoru calls Usagi throughout the beginning of the anime, refering to her hair. They call her Meatball Head in the dub.

Lovies!


	3. Chapter Two: Loss

**Alone**  
_Chapter Two: Loss  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. Don't own; don't sue.

**Beta:** Lynz – Thank You.

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** 03/05/08 – Updated.

xxx

Usagi knocked on the door and patiently waited for Mamoru to answer it. Her face reflected none of the inner turmoil she felt. When the door opened, she was perfectly composed and distant.

She nodded politely to her former boyfriend. "Chiba-san, is Chibi-Usa-chan ready?"

He stared at her for a moment with confusion, before opening the door wider and civilly motioning her to enter. She smiled faintly and stepped into the familiar apartment, taking off her small shoes and leaving them by the door. She walked into the large living room, spotting her future daughter reading at the table. She smiled at the little girl when she looked up. "Hello, Chibi-Usa," Usagi greeted.

The pink-haired girl beamed happily and ran over to give her future mother a hug. "Usagi-chan!" she exclaimed. "How was the Senshi meeting?"

Usagi laughed suddenly. "It went a lot different than I thought it would. I shocked the Senshi speechless and told them the truth finally," she told the little girl.

Chibi-Usa started and looked at Usagi in surprise. "You did? Everything?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes. Everything. Grab your things and let's go home, okay?"

The young girl smiled and did as she was told, Usagi watching her. She tensed up as she sensed Mamoru coming up behind her. "Usagi?"

"Yes, Chiba-san?" She could almost feel his wince, holding back a giggle. That would teach him not to tear her heart out over stupid dreams.

"What did you mean, you told the Senshi the truth?" he asked her softly, his voice carefully devoid of emotion.

She sighed. "I don't think that is any of your concern any longer, Chiba-san."

"Would you _stop_ calling me that!" he snapped angrily.

She turned to him, looking up in his dark blue eyes. Eyes that at one time brought her so much joy and now only brought pain and anguish. "Why should I? You and I are no more than strangers now. Isn't that what you wanted?"

He shook his head angrily. "No! Just because we aren't together doesn't make us strangers. We fight together, Usagi. Doesn't that count for something?"

She cocked her head, looking at him coldly. "I don't know anymore. Does it?" she asked distantly. "You're the one who doesn't trust me."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

She turned away from him. "You heard me. You believed in me so little that you didn't even trust me with the knowledge of your dreams. Instead, you decided to break my heart, leaving me alone. Doesn't that make us less than friends?"

"H-how-?" he stuttered in surprise.

She looked over her should and glared at her love. "I am connected to you, Mamoru. A thousand of years of loving you has intertwined our destinies, and our souls. Your dreams are my dreams." She smiled down at the little girl who had just finished gathering her things. "Ready, sweetie?"

The pink-haired child nodded. "Yup."

"Good," Usagi said softly and led the girl towards the door.

"Usako!"

Usagi froze. She slowly turned to look at the man who had shown her the true meaning of pain. "You have lost the right to call me that," she told him.

She turned away, smiling reassuringly at the little girl and walked out of his apartment. She sighed when the door closed and picked up her future daughter, quickly making their way out of the building. "Chibi-Usa?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me something, okay?" The child nodded as she was put on the ground again. She then took Usagi's hand and together theystarted walking home. "Promise me," she began sadly. "Promise me you'll look after Mamoru should something happen to me."

Chibi-Usa looked up at her young mother, her face fearful. "Mama?"

Usagi smiled sadly at the little girl. "Don't worry; I don't plan for something to happen. I just want to know that he'll be okay without me."

The pink-haired child from the future nodded. "Okay. I promise."

xxx

"Usagi-chan!" the shrill voice sounded over the little pink device. Usagi blinked and peeked out from under her blankets in confusion. "Usagi-chan!" came the call again. Usagi shot out of bed, tripping over her shoes she had left in the middle of the floor, and fumbled with her backpack. She found the communicator and pressed the blinking button.

"What!"

"Get to the Crown Arcade!" Mars voice snapped over the line.

Usagi nodded. "Right! On my way," she stated, clicking off the pink compact and reached for her locket, bringing it up into the air and yelling, "Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

A white light surrounded her, and a few seconds later, she appeared in her sailor fuku, complete with matching gloves, boots, and tiara. She jumped out of her bedroom window with a quick wave to the drowsy Luna and ran towards her after-school hang out.

When she reached the front of the Crown Arcade, she found the usual creepy Black Moon beastie. The Senshi all stood around the monster, each attacking it when the opportunity presented itself. She shook her head. _Everything is routine. Come in, say speech, let the other Senshi weaken it, and then dust the stupid thing. Why does it have to be so repetitive? The Dark Forces lack creativity.  
_  
"Hey, you!" she called down to the evil being, who turned its head towards her, its dark eyes glaring. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! Can't your masters ever think of something new?"

The thing cocked its head at her in confusion and Sailor Moon rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice and on behalf of the Moon, I will punish you," she stated the familiar lines dully. She brought her Moon Scepter out and called out the attack phrase, disintegrating the monster of the day. _That was too easy._

She quickly jumped down to the waiting Senshi. "Sleep now?"

The girls each nodded, happy to go back home. Waving, Sailor Moon turned and started walking away. Feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, she swung around to see a shadow behind Sailor Mercury. She opened her mouth to scream a warning, but the shadow suddenly grasped a hold of the blue-haired Senshi who screeched in surprise.

"Mercury!" Mars screamed and ran towards her, only to slam into a force field. She flew backwards, landing on the pavement hard.

"Mercury!" Sailor Moon stood in front of the force field. She had never felt so helpless in all her life. She brought out her Moon Scepter once more, only to be stopped by cruel laughter.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Sailor Moon," the shadow sneered and stepped into the light. The Senshi gasped in shock at the hideous man, clothed in a long cloak. His face flickered in the low lights, giving each girl the same feeling of dread and fear.

His face was nothing more than a skull. In one of his mummified hands, he held an unconscious Sailor Mercury. "I know how to beat you, Sailor Moon." The man laughed evilly. "It is quite easy actually. I'm surprised Beryl didn't accomplish it."

"Oh, really? How do you beat me then?" Sailor Moon asked with a calm she did not feel.

The living skeleton shook his finger at the blonde Senshi. "Tsk, tsk. You should know better by now, Sailor Moon. Never give away your plans to the enemy." The creature laughed again. "As lovely as it is to chat with you girls, I must be going now. Don't worry; I'll be seeing you soon." Then as quickly as it had appeared, the cloaked figure vanished into a black portal, carrying an unconscious Mercury with him.

Sailor Moon collapsed on her knees in shock and anguish. Her crystal blue eyes filled with tears and she looked up at the night sky. "Mercury," she whimpered.

xxx

Usagi stared at the floor, oblivious to the Senshi around her. Mercury was gone. After the abduction of their friend, the others had taken her home. She didn't remember the trip there or falling asleep. She vaguely remembered her future daughter trying to comfort her, talk to her, but she didn't remember what she said to the little girl or if she said anything. All she remembered was Ami's capture. And her failure.

She couldn't even think beyond the fact that Ami was gone. Taken by the enemy. Sweet, shy little Ami-chan. The brains behind the Senshi. Captured. For what purpose? How could those bastards take the least threatening of them all? And what was worse, Usagi didn't prevent it. She failed to save her friend, her comrade.

"Usagi?"

She blinked. That voice sounded familiar. But he wouldn't have come. He wanted to pretend that she didn't matter to him. He wanted to show he didn't care about her.

"Usako."

She frowned and looked up from the grass, her deep blue eyes meeting midnight ones. She blinked. "Mamo-chan?" she whispered.

"Yes, Usako," he murmured..

"What are you doing here?" she asked confused. He didn't want her anymore. He didn't care.

"Chibi-Usa told me what happened," he told her.

Her brow furrowed. "That still doesn't explain what you're doing here? You hate me," she muttered, although she knew he didn't, but... unable to stop feeling as though he did.

His eyes softened. "No, Usako. I could never hate you."

"Don't call me that!" she cried, standing up suddenly. She had to get away from him. He only brought pain. More pain than she had already. She was stopped from her flight by his hand on her arm.

"Let go! You don't care! You never trusted me or believed in me and I don't want to hear how big of a failure I am right now! I know I failed her! I know I'm a horrible fighter! I wasn't supposed to be a fighter. I was never supposed to fight!" she screamed at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, beating her tiny fists on his chest. "I know I'm worthless! I don't need you to tell me!"

"Usako!" He wrapped his arms around the struggling girl, holding her tightly to his chest. "You aren't worthless, Usako," he murmured into hair, gently rubbing her back. "You have never been worthless. You didn't fail, Usako. You did everything just perfect and I know we'll get her back."

She collapsed against his chest, sobbing. "Leave me alone," she wept. "Please, just leave me alone!"

He sighed softly, still crushing her small body to his. "No, Usako," he whispered. "Cry. Let it out and then we, all of us, will figure out what to do next. For now, just cry."

"You don't understand!" she exclaimed, bashing her tiny fists against him again. "I'm stronger than all of them! I should have been able to save her! I should have-"

"Enough," he scolded tenderly. "Enough with the guilt. It wasn't your fault, Usako. It wasn't your fault!"

"How do you know? You weren't even there!"

He kissed her temple softly, sighing into her hair. "Usako, I know because I know you. You did everything you could and you will get her back. We will get her back," he reassured. "You will win as you always do, Usako. I believe in you."

She wrestled away from his strong embrace angrily. "Why now, Mamoru? Why do you believe in me now when you didn't believe in me enough to tell me about your dreams?" she demanded angrily.

She glared at the dark-haired man, putting all of her anger and pain into that one look, letting him know just how much he destroyed her. "Leave me alone, Mamoru. I don't need your lies." She turned and ran away from the man she loved, tears coursing down her cheeks. _I hate you, Mamo-chan!_

xxx

"No!" Usagi screamed, sitting straight up in bed. She clutched her chest and tried to control her gasps. She kept replaying Mercury's capture repeatedly, each time more painful than the last. It didn't help that the man who had taken her was nothing short of a living skeleton. She was positive his face would haunt her for years. She curled up tighter in her blankets, leaning against the wall.

"Usagi-chan?"

"Yeah, Luna?"

"Can't sleep?" the little feline asked softly as she jumped onto her princess' bed.

Usagi shook her head slightly, her eyes filling with tears. "Luna? Why do I have so much power when I can't even use it to save my friends?" the young woman asked quietly.

Luna looked up at her hurting Princess sadly. "I don't know, Usagi-chan. I just don't know."

xxx

**AN:** (sigh) I still dislike the beginning of this fic.

Lovies!


	4. Chapter Three: Another Taken

**Alone**  
_Chapter Three: Another One Taken  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** Don't own SM or said characters. Suing me will get you nowhere. I promise.

**Beta:** Lynz - Thank You!

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** 03/05/08 - Updated. For the record, all Japanese is translated at the bottom. I don't use much (because frankly, I find it a little silly to use Japanese in an _English_ fanfiction when the English word works just fine), but I do use Japanese for words that aren't translated easily into English (like youkai, hanyou, -chan, -sama) and when the characters use that specific word a lot as part of their personalities or name calling (Odango Atama, anyone?).

xxx

"Mama!" a frightened Chibi-Usa cried out as she ran outside.

Usagi turned towards the worried little girl, frowning. "What is it?"

"The communicator went off! Youma at Rei's school!"

Usagi nodded slowly and stood up. "Go inside, sweetie," she told the child as she ran into the house. She dashed up the stairs and into her bedroom, snatching up her communicator immediately, and told the Senshi she was on her way. The blonde was out of the house within moments. She transformed on her way to Rei's school and arrived in short order.

She took a moment to absorb the situation and quickly jumped in, sending her tiara into the side of the ugly youma's side as it prepared to launch an attack at her friend. Mars snorted as she was saved by her sometimes-rival, sometimes-best friend.

"About time," the cross Senshi said irritably, but Sailor Moon could detect the hint of gratitude in her voice. It had been that way as long as she could remember. Rei couldn't seem to express how much she cared for her leader and princess. It was in subtle actions and tone of voice that they gave one another that relayed just how much they cared for each other.

"Bite me," Sailor Moon retorted happily. "Ready?"

The Senshi nodded wearily and Sailor Moon absently gave her tradition speech, forgetting immediately what she had preached about. She dusted the monster shortly after that and was preparing to jump off the stone wall, when a familiar dark voice filled the silent battlefield. "Wonderful work, Senshi," the voice drawled out. "I expected no less from you, Sailor Moon."

Sailor Moon snapped her head around to face the skeleton and glared angrily at the creature who had taken their friend two days before. "Give Mercury back," she ordered.

The cloaked figure shook his head and chuckled. "I'm sorry, Senshi of the Moon, but I cannot comply with your wishes this time. You see, Mercury is being put to good use and it would be a shame to stop it now. Perhaps later she will be returned. Of course, she will never be as she once was. Now, I apologize, young Senshi, but it is time for another of your comrades to join us. Mars, if you would..."

Sailor Moon blinked in complete shock at the audacity of this villain. As if Rei would just walk up...

"Mars!" she screamed and rushed forward to intercept her friend who was indeed moving sedately towards the cloaked man. "Mars!"

Sailor Mars absently backhanded Sailor Moon away from her and continued to walk towards the skeletal man, ignoring her stricken comrade who crumpled on the hard cement.

"Yes, Sailor Mars, come to me," the evil being murmured softly, sending chills down Sailor Moon's spine.

"Mars!" she screamed again in anguish. She rose and ran towards her friend again, only to collide with Tuxedo Kamen's back. Sailor Moon cried out and started to move around her ex-boyfriend, only to find herself restrained in his arms after two steps. "Let me go!" she yelled desperately.

"Sailor Moon, stop it!" he snapped, scooping her up into his arms.

"Damn it, please let me go!" she demanded and kicked out. She connected with his stomach and he grunted, loosening his hold on her. She wrestled herself away from him and ran towards the skeletal being and Mars, who had just reached out to him. "Mars!" she screamed as they both disappeared.

"Mars!" She crumpled to the cement, devastated.

She felt herself being lifted by strong arms, knowing immediately that her former boyfriend had picked her up. She groaned. "Put. Me. Down. Now!" she hissed angrily. "Traitor! How could you? How could you let her be taken like that! I know you hate me, Mamoru, but to let Mars suffer because of me!"

He flinched. "Usako, stop. I don't hate you and you know it. My first duty is to protect you and Mars wouldn't have wanted you taken as well. I did it to protect you, Usako."

"Bullshit! I've had enough of your lies, Mamoru. Let me go!" she yelled, and flung herself out of his arms. "I hate you! Just leave me alone! Isn't it enough that you broke my heart? Do you want my friends taken away too? Why did you stop me? I could have saved her!" she cried, tears coursing down her cheeks. She turned and ran away from those midnight blue eyes and two Senshi who had just arrived to hear her anguished accusations.

She found herself quickly caught by Tuxedo Kamen. He picked her up and jumped out of the school yard and across the rooftops. She gave a wordless cry, struggling against his embrace, but quickly stopped once he nearly missed a balcony.

She sighed and sulked until he stopped a few minutes later. She noticed that he had taken them outside the city.

"Usako," his soft voice murmured and he tightened his arms around her. "Damn it, Usako. Please, listen to me."

"Why?" she asked coldly. "You let her be taken! You let her! I could have done something! I would have rather been taken than her! It's me he wants, not them! Why didn't you just let me go?"

To her surprise, he suddenly sat on the ground and clutched her to his chest. He held her in his lap and buried his face in her neck. A soft sob escaped him. "I couldn't, Usako. You would have been captured and I couldn't stand to see that happen. I would rather they were all taken, every last one of them, than to see you in their hands. I couldn't let you do it."

She pulled away from him angrily. "I would rather have it be me! I love them! I'm nothing without them. They are my family, my friends, and all I have!"

"No! You have me, Usako," he snapped, shaking her shoulders slightly before he clutched her to his chest again. "You have me. We can come up with a plan, Usako. Mars would rather I saved you than her and you know it. They would all want you safe. You are everything to all of us. You are everything to _me_. We can still save them, but if you were captured, it would have been hopeless. You can hate me, you have reason enough, but I will protect you. No matter the circumstances, no matter if you scream at me or curse me. I can handle your hatred, even though it hurts, but I am not strong enough to handle your capture or your death. I will protect you, hatred or no."

She pulled away from him and quickly transformed back into her jeans and skimpy t-shirt she had been wearing to clean up the yard. She turned away from him and walked back towards Tokyo. "Leave me alone, Mamoru. If You're strong enough to break my heart with your betrayal, you're strong enough to handle my death, disappearance, whatever. Just leave me alone."

Suddenly, he was behind her, wrapping his arms around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head. She could feel a fine trembling coming from the strong arms that held her. "No, Usako. My little one, I love you," he whispered hoarsely.

"No, you don't. If you loved me, truly loved me, you would have saved her. Or let me save her. If you truly loved me, your dreams wouldn't have mattered. Or you would have told me about them. You cannot love me."

"Damn it! I know I've hurt you, Usako, but I do love you. Despite what I've said or done, that has never changed. I've never known love before you, I will never know it again, and you know it. I love you, I love everything about you, and yes, I trust you. I trust you and believe in you, but sometimes, when you're in danger, I'm irrational. I would rather die a million times over than have you captured by that man. I'd gladly sacrifice this world than let them have you." His arms tightened more with each declaration.

"It may be stupid, but I love you so much, nothing else matters to me. I want to save the world, yes. But without you, I'd rather it was destroyed. What use is this world to me or anyone without you in it? Please, Usako. I love you. I've never stopped. You make me so irrational sometimes and when I feel that you're in danger, I don't think. I just do what comes to mind. I'm sorry, Usako, for everything I've said or done. I'm sorry for all the pain I have brought you. I'm sorry I couldn't let you sacrifice yourself. I'm sorry, my love. I'm sorry for everything but loving you. I'll never be sorry for loving you."

She turned around to stare at him silently throughout his long speech, shocked. She had to admit it did make some sense. When the people she loved were in danger, she didn't think. She acted. Sometimes irrationally. And if he did love her, and she knew he did despite what little doubts floated around her mind, danger to her would have made him do exactly that. She was just so tired of her fellow Senshi and her boyfriend protecting her so fiercely they didn't tell her anything.

He abruptly sat on the grass, his shoulders slumping in defeat. She knelt in front of him, lifting his bowed head to look at her. His dark blue eyes were nearly black with emotion: pain, anguish, self-hatred, and guilt.

"I understand, Mamoru," she whispered.

He winced and turned away from her. "No, I don't think you do, Usako. I may be Tuxedo Kamen, a superhero, but that isn't really what I am. I'm dark. You're light and pure. An angel. Your heart is so big and you love everyone and everything. I don't love everything, Usako. It is you I love. I care for this world because you love it so much. This world has brought me nothing but pain and suffering until I met you. The only light in my soul is because of you. I fight evil for you, not for the reason you do. To protect everyone. I fight to protect you. Danger to you rends my soul in two, Usako. You deserve a man who is perfect. One who is as pure as you are. You deserve far better than I, but even that doesn't stop me from loving you. I could never let you go, never let you go to another man. It's selfish, perhaps, but even when I know I don't deserve you, I can't let you go. I love you so much and in so many different ways that even I don't understand."

He ran his fingers through his ebony hair in frustration. "Every time I'm around you, nothing else matters. The world, my problems, everything disappears while you are with me. Usako, I dream about you, every night. I think of you every moment. I go mad with longing every time we're apart."

"But-"

He smiled humorlessly. "But I never show it? I never show how much I want to touch you, kiss you, and more. I'm not good at showing how I feel. Some of it may be that I love you too much, I'm afraid that you'll run away from what I feel. It's so strong, Usako. I'm afraid of it sometimes. I can feel you all the time. I can feel your happiness and sorrows, every moment, inside my heart. I can sometimes hear what you're thinking about and it shames me. You're pure and innocent. I'm not. I'm older than you and I feel so horrible for the things I think sometimes, but I'm not as innocent of things as you. And I promised myself I'd never let you see them. I'd keep you as innocent as I could for as long as I could."

She sighed. "You don't need to do that. I'm not exactly innocent, but I don't let the horrors I've experienced darken my heart. I know what you think as well, you know," she added, looking into his eyes. "I'm not that naive. I love you and I know you're older. A big whopping three years. I know what you think of. I know your dreams. I know what you feel. I had hoped you would heal without pushing you too much." She paused and looked at him. "I know what you want and what you dream of."

He turned away from her. "No, Usako. You're too young," he began.

She snorted. "I've lived two lifetimes, I know about these things just like any other teenager does, but there is also another reason I know about them. I remember being Serenity; I remember making love to Endymion. I remember it all."

He turned and stared at her. "Usako..."

"What? Surprised I would remember it? Don't you think I feel the same as you? I remember being one with you and now have to go on in this lifetime without that. I remember the complete bliss we achieved that night before the attack. I remember everything. You are Endymion as well as Chiba Mamoru, and you long for it also. Remember that I see your dreams. Is it not confusing sometimes to be two people?"

He nodded. "I didn't think you remembered, Usako," he murmured turning away from her.

She smiled. "Of course I do. It is one of the first memories I had remembered when they started coming back to me. I know it is hard, Mamoru. I know it is hard remembering that and being who we are here."

"It's just that then you were older. Now, you're so young and it isn't the right time. Back then we both knew it was the right moment and we did it for love and because one or both of us might not have made it during Beryl's attack."

"I know. Endymion was the same way, you know. Before that night, you was always trying to keep your honor and my virtue intact. I know you, better than you may believe. I know how much you love me and to what depths." She sighed, turning her face from him. "I don't know how much you remember exactly, Mamoru, but I remember it all, I think. I remember what it felt like to die by my hand and your sword. I remember dying by your side to follow you."

"Usako," he murmured, reaching out to touch her face, but hesitated.

"You should have let me save Mars," she whispered.

He winced. "No. We can always get her back. Without you, we'd have lost hope. I know I did the right thing, selfish as it may be. The others would agree with me. They love you, too."

She sighed. "I don't want any of them to suffer when I can stop it. You must understand."

"I understand, Usako. I've always understood how you feel about that. But that's why it is our duty to protect you from that."

"I don't want it to be your duty!"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Usako. It is our duty. A sense of duty so deeply ingrained into our souls we could no more stop protecting you than we could stop breathing or eating. It is what we do. Because we love you."

"Mamoru-"

"Not Mamoru," he insisted, cupping her face to make her look at him. "Please."

"Until I know what is going to happen between us now, that is how it's going to stay. I'm sorry, but I just can't right now. You hurt me too much."

He flinched.

"Just let me go home now, I'm going to be late."

xxx

Usagi sighed. "I'm sorry, Mom," she whispered.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it, Usagi," the older woman snapped. "You were four hours late, Usagi! Your father and I were afraid something terrible had happened. Where were you?"

Usagi looked away. "I was at Rei-chan's," she whispered, lying easily, as she had been doing to her beloved parents since she became Sailor Moon.

"You're lying," her mother stated. "I called there looking for you; her grandfather was worried sick about Rei also! I've had it, Usagi. I've had it with all the mystery, lying, late nights, the bruises I see all the time, everything! Are you in trouble? On drugs? What is going on with you? Is that Mamoru boy hurting you? Are you having sex?"

"Mother!" Usagi exclaimed. "Mamoru would never hurt me like that." She glanced out the large window. "And no, we aren't having sex... We aren't even together anymore."

"Tell me, please, Usagi, what is going on? I'm worried about you!"

"Mom-"

"Don't Usagi. No more lies."

Usagi hung her head. In all honesty, she hated hiding things from her mother. She hated the lying and sneaking around. Her mortal mother and her were always very close, sharing confidences all the time. Until she became a Sailor Senshi. "I'm sorry, Mama," she whispered sadly. "I cannot tell you."

"Usagi, if you need help-"

"No. It's nothing like that. I'm not in any trouble, nothing like that. I just... can't tell you."

Her mother sighed. "Fine," she stated tiredly and turned to leave her daughter's room. She paused before she opened the door and looked back at Usagi. "You're grounded for two weeks, Usagi. No allowance and you aren't allowed to leave the house except to go to school. It will be doubled every time you lie, sneak out, or return home late." With that, she left her daughter alone.

Usage winced as the door shut. There had been tears in her mother's eyes.

xxx

**AN:** Just…to stop a question I know I'll get again… No, Mamoru and Usagi won't be getting together quite yet. It'll still be awhile until they're…'complete' again.

**Japanese:**

- Youma: Japanese for monster, often used in many different episode-driven anime to refer to the 'monster-of-the-week'

- Senshi: Soldier, literally. (I said warrior earlier, which is the same thing, sort of, but I had to brush up on my Japanese editing this monster)

Lovies!


	5. Chapter Four: Revealing the Truth

**Alone**  
_Chapter Four: Revealing the Truth  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG_

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill!

**Beta:** Lynz - Thank You!

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** 03/06/08 - Minor Corrections

xxx

"Usagi-chan?"

Usagi glanced up startled, smiling faintly at her friend and fellow Senshi. "Hey, Mako-chan," she greeted quietly before looking back down at her lunch.

"What's wrong?"

The blonde Senshi shrugged. "What isn't wrong? Ami and Rei taken, Mamoru and I are having... discussions, and my mother has grounded me!"

"Why?" the taller girl asked as she sat on the soft grass beside her friend, opening her own lunch.

"Because she's worried about me. I think it might be time to tell her the truth."

"Usagi, you know that-"

"I know, I know! But I can't spend all my time locked in my house!"

"Point." Makoto paused. "How about Mina-chan, Mamoru-san, and I come over tonight? With Luna and Artemis' help, we could break the news that their daughter is really a superhero."

Usagi sighed sadly. "Some superhero I am," she said bitterly. She then looked up to her friend. "Promise me something."

"Anything, Usa-chan."

"Promise me you will be careful. Don't let that thing capture you. Please."

The taller warrior grinned. "Of course! I don't plan on being taken. We will get them back, I promise. You have always pulled through before and you will again." She wrapped an arm around the petite girl's shoulders. "How about I bring Mina-chan and Mamoru-san over around eight?"

Usagi nodded. "That's perfect. Can you let the others know they'll be coming with you? I'm grounded from the phone, too."

Makoto nodded. "Of course. Are you going to break it to Shingo?"

Usagi shook her head. "No. My parents are enough."

"Good." She glanced at her watch. "Usa-chan, we have five minutes. Let's get to class."

"Okay," the teenager agreed as she rose from the ground. "We've got to keep pretending to be normal girls," she said bitterly, "and get our butts to class. Pretend to not know what happened to Ami; pretend to be completely clueless about everything."

"Bitter today, aren't we?" Makoto asked, concerned.

"Hard not to be. That monster is hitting me where it hurts the most."

"Yes, he is."

xxx

Usagi looked up as the doorbell rang. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she sighed. Exactly eight. She rose from the couch, ignoring her parents, and answered the door. She motioned her guests to enter, and when they did, her mother and father blinked. Makoto, Minako - who was holding Artemis - and Mamoru entered quietly, each bowing politely to her parents. Usagi gave her former boyfriend a tiny smile of gratitude. He at least showed up; she had been a little worried that he wouldn't.

"Mom, Dad, we need to talk. Hold on, let me grab Luna."

They stared after her, identical frowns of confusion on their faces. "Why don't you three have a seat?" Usagi's mother suggested, motioning with her hand to the other couch and chairs.

"Thank you, Tsukino-san," Mamoru acknowledged politely, nodding at the girls and claiming a spot on the love seat. Makoto took the large chair and Minako chose to stand. They all looked over when Usagi returned, carrying her black feline. She set the cat down and Luna padded softly over to Artemis, who was sitting at Minako's feet.

"Mom, Dad," Usagi began softly, sitting beside Mamoru on the love seat. She pointedly ignored her father's protective glare; he always did hate the idea of her dating. "I think it's time we told you the truth."

"The truth?" Kenji asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Her mother, however, sighed. "About time, Usagi!"

The blonde smiled faintly at her mother before a grimace graced her face. She decided it was best to be a bit blunt. "I don't want Shingo to know, which is why I didn't tell him to come down. I'm sure you guys are wondering where I go, why I'm always late, the unexplained school absences, the sneaking outside, the bruises, and the exhaustion."

Usagi's mother nodded. Her father, however, just looked confused. "Huh?" he said.

"I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I'm not really your average teenager." She paused. "I'm Sailor Moon."

The blue-haired woman blinked and her father just chuckled. "Right."

Usagi looked at both of them. "I'm serious. I am Sailor Moon. Minako is Sailor Venus and Makoto is Sailor Jupiter. Ami is Mercury and Rei is Mars, but they can't be here because they were captured a few days ago by an enemy."

"What does Mamoru-san have to do with this?" Usagi's mother asked, obviously still doubtful.

"He is Tuxedo Kamen."

Both of her parents blinked. "Right. Usagi, I want the real truth now."

Usagi sighed. "I'm sorry, Mom, but this is the truth. Your daughter is a superhero. I fight to save this world from evil as Sailor Moon, alongside my friends, the Sailor Senshi. And my protector, Tuxedo Kamen."

"But you're only a little girl," Kenji protested suddenly.

Usagi smiled. "A little girl who has lived more than twice as long as my fourteen years. I was born a thousand years ago on the moon. I am the Moon Princess; I was betrothed to the Earth Prince, Endymion."

"Moon Princess? Endymion?"

Luna suddenly stepped forward. "I am her guardian," Luna said, shocking both of her parents into silence. "I was there on the moon. It is my job to advise and train the Sailor Senshi, alongside Artemis. She is who she says she is."

"A talking... c-cat?" Kenji stuttered out in shock.

"Yes. I am a talking cat. Just as Artemis is."

The white feline suddenly chuckled. "I know this is a lot to take in, Tsukino-san, but it is the truth. Your daughter was born a thousand years ago and died shortly after her seventeenth birthday. Her soul was sent into the future to be reborn... as Tsukino Usagi, your daughter."

"Died? How?" Usagi's father asked dismayed.

Usagi suddenly sighed. "Prince Endymion died fighting for my kingdom. I witnessed his death and I took my own life."

A stunned silence descended upon the couple.

Mamoru coughed. "I suppose it is only fair that I mention that I am Endymion. Or rather, I was."

"You're... Have you seduced my little girl?" Kenji demanded suddenly in horror.

Mamoru's eyes widened. "No!"

"Dad, please. We aren't here to discuss Mamoru and I. I just... felt it would be best if I tell you this now, after being grounded. I have to keep leaving, especially what we're battling against now. I know I'd keep being grounded because I cannot abandon my duty. Please understand, I have to leave, I have to get Rei-chan and Ami-chan back..."

"You're too young-"

"I know I'm young, Mom, but this is my duty, destiny if you will. I am destined to fight to defend this world. I'm destined to do it. Even if you forbid me to, I will still do it. It cannot be any other way."

Usagi's mother sighed. "We need to let this soak in. We'll talk tomorrow about your grounding," the blue-haired woman stated.

"I understand," Usagi said, standing up. She suddenly frowned and looked up the stairs. A few moments later, a small pink-haired child ran down them, her eyes wide. "Chibi-Usa?" The little girl glanced around the room nervously, imploring Usagi with her eyes. "It's okay, Chibi. Tell me, my parents know I'm Sailor Moon now."

The little girl nodded. "Puu told me there is an attack at the Juuban Orphanage!"

Mamoru paled. "Usako-"

She reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers together and reassuringly squeezed. "I know," she murmured to him. She turned to her parents. "Sorry, but I've got to-"

Kenji looked like he was about to object, but Usagi's mother put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Go, Usagi," the older woman relented worriedly.

Usagi smiled. "Thank you," she told her parents gratefully. She glanced at the pink-haired child. "Stay here, Chibi-Usa."

The little girl nodded.

Smiling warmly at her future daughter, Usagi released Mamoru's hand, reaching for her brooch and called the familiar words. "Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

The other girls followed immediately after.

"Venus Star Power, Make Up!"

"Jupiter Star Power, Make Up!"

After the display of lights disappeared, three Senshi and a masked warrior in a tuxedo stood where the group of girls and one man had once stood.

Both of Usagi's parents stared in awe. "It's really true... You are Sailor Moon," Kenji whispered.

Sailor Moon nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so." She glanced at her fellow Senshi. "Let's go."

xxx

**AN:** Icky, I really don't like that scene.

Lovies!


	6. Chapter Five: A Mother's Acceptance

_**Alone**__  
Chapter Five: A Mother's Acceptance  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG_

**Disclaimer:** I'm not creative enough to create Sailormoon...

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** Updated - 03/19/08

xxx

The Senshi arrived at the orphanage in record time. All four of them surveyed their surroundings, looking for the youma they had been told was there. Fortunately, it didn't look like it had appeared yet. A few small boys played on the worn swing set, which sat in the barely kept yard.

"Do you think the information was right?" Venus asked quietly as she stood behind the tree in the corner of the yard.

"I think so. Chibi-Usa trusts this Puu," Sailor Moon replied.

"Then perhaps we should watch for awhile until one shows up," Tuxedo Kamen suggested, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

He stared at where he had grown up, where he had left as soon as he was able to get a job. He had loathed this place so much towards the end, and yet... he couldn't help feeling a sort of nostalgia for home whenever he looked at it.

He glanced towards Sailor Moon. _Perhaps, It's time I made my own home now...  
_  
"Sounds good," Jupiter said, taking a seat on the grass.

Sailor Moon, however, stayed tense, uncomfortable. "Guys, I think something is wrong."

Tuxedo Kamen glanced at the woman he had sworn to protect, frowning slightly in concern. "What do you mean?"

The Moon Senshi shook her head, stepping towards the building. "We should check inside."

Venus and Jupiter watched their leader in silence for a moment before they both pushed away from the tree. "Let's go then!" Venus exclaimed, jogging towards the front door of the orphanage.

xxx

Something was definitely wrong. Sailor Moon could feel it inside. The hair on the back of her neck was standing up and every nerve was afire with tension. The four warriors crept down the hall towards the front desk silently. They hadn't been stopped or spotted yet by any of the children or the adults running the orphanage and that in itself was very odd.

Sailor Moon glanced worriedly around the front lobby. "It's too quiet."

Jupiter cracked her knuckles. "I hope we're not too late."

Venus gasped, backing into Sailor Moon. "We're not. It's here! In the walls!"

The Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen glanced around frantically, looking for whatever Venus spotted. "What do you mean?" Sailor Moon asked, her voice cracking slightly in fear.

"I mean, it's _in_ the walls! I saw the walls move!"

Tuxedo Kamen suddenly jumped in front of Sailor Moon, holding his cane and arms out in front of him protectively. "Watch out, Senshi! It's coming!"

Sailor Moon couldn't see much over the shoulder of her protector, simply a shadow – a large shadow – which plowed into Tuxedo Kamen, knocking both of them into the wall.

Sailor Moon cried out in pain, the air was pushed from her lungs with a soft whoosh. Tuxedo Kamen tried to soften his fall against her, but failed miserably as he slammed into her.

"Sailor Moon!" Jupiter cried, rushing the snake-like youma, lightening flying from her hands.

Venus threw a Love and Beauty Shock at the creature and both the lightening and energy chain hit simultaneously, momentarily stunning the monster.

Tuxedo Kamen pushed himself off Sailor Moon, worriedly looking down at her. "Usako, are you alright?"

She groaned softly, sitting up. "Yeah." She gave him a sweet smile. "You're heavy."

The black-haired masked man smiled slightly. "Sorry. It's time for you, Sailor Moon."

She sighed and nodded, standing up just as the youma appeared to be getting its bearings back. "Alright! Time to dust the freak!" She twirled around with her wand, crying out, "Moon Princess Halation!"

The monster screamed shrilly as it was disintegrated into a soft, glowing pile of dust.

Sailor Moon slumped against the wall, sighing. "It's done."

Her ex-boyfriend watched her worriedly. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, straightening away from the wall. "Let's go, every-" She gasped, snapping her head around. "Jupiter? Venus?"

Both Senshi were gone.

xxx

Sailor Moon clung desperately at Mamoru's shirt, her tiny hands clenching the white fabric with trembling fingers. She sobbed softly, brokenheartedly, into his chest as he held her.

Usagi's parents looked on silently, each feeling helpless to ease their daughter's pain. It was the parents' job to heal and console their children, but this time, both her father and mother felt completely out of their league. How could they possibly tell their daughter – the superhero – that her friends will be fine in the hands of someone evil? How could they protect their little girl from such pain and sorrow when Usagi was who she was? How could they protect her from doing her duty, her destiny as she put it? It wasn't as if her mother could say, "It'll be okay," and it really would be, like when Usagi had been a child.

Their daughter had grown up, and nothing they could say or do would help ease the pain of friends and comrades lost. So, they simply watched on helplessly as the only other person who could understand her pain comforted her.

Mamoru knew it was nearly driving her father rabid with anger and jealousy, but he wasn't about to let his Usako suffer alone simply to appease the older man. He'd be there for her, especially after he'd done so much to hurt her.

"Usako, maybe you should go to sleep. We'd all think better after resting. I don't think we will figure out anything tonight," Mamoru said softly to the sobbing blonde in his lap.

She nodded feebly. "I... guess."

The young man gently lifted Usagi into his arms, and moved upstairs towards her room. He purposely ignored her father's facial twitch.

"How does _he_ know where her room is?" Mamoru heard Kenji demand angrily.

After a few calming sounds from Usagi's mother, he couldn't hear anything else as he entered the pink, bunny-covered room. He gently set his princess on the bed, crouching beside it.

"I'm sorry, Usako."

She shook her head. "I should have been paying attention."

Mamoru sighed. "It is my job to protect you. I failed to do that. I failed to save your friends."

"No, you shouldn't have to do everything! I'm not as weak as that! I should have done it! I should have seen them taken, stopped it, something! It isn't your fault!"

"I still failed to do what I became Tuxedo Kamen to do. Protect the princess, the princess I love. You."

Shaking her head, she covered her face with her hands. "Stop it! You haven't learned to trust me yet! You can't just act like we're together! We aren't! You left me! You left me and your words won't make it alright! Nothing will change the fact you left me, you hurt me, without even giving me a choice. I'm not a possession, I'm not a pet! I have free will! I can choose what I want, who I want to be with, even if I die because of it!"

Mamoru looked at her sadly. "I can't, Usako. I can't stay with you, knowing that if I stay... you'll die. Don't you understand? If... being apart from you will save you, I will stay away!"

She sobbed into her hands softly. "Just... go, Mamoru."

He sighed sadly, standing up from his crouching position. "I'm sorry, Usako," he murmured, moving towards the door. He could do nothing else to ease the pain of losing her four best friends, or stop the hurting he had inflicted on her. So he left her to cry herself to sleep.

xxx

Usagi opened puffy blue eyes, glancing around her room slowly. Something seemed out of place, though she couldn't remember quite what it was.

Slowly sitting up, Usagi pushed back her blankets and blinked. She was still dressed in her Sailor fuku. _What happened last night?_ she wondered.

Then it all came crashing back.

Makoto and Minako had been taken by the Doom Phantom. And she hadn't even seen it! It had all happened right under her nose! It was all her fault. The only reason they were being taken was to weaken her! They knew - _he_ knew - that she relied on her friends. Even if she didn't strictly need them to survive a battle – she was capable of handling one on her own, if she had to – she did need them with her. She loved them. They were her friends, a part of her family. Their strength is what gave her the strength to survive, to fight!

She blinked back another tirade of tears as the sound of soft footsteps stopped outside her door.

The door opened slightly and her mother stood there silently with a sad, sympathetic expression on her face. "Usagi-chan?"

Usagi smiled weakly and gently touched the brooch on her chest, dispelling her Sailor uniform. "Hi, Mom."

The blue-haired woman entered the room and shut the door behind her. "Can we talk?"

Usagi nodded, pulling her legs to her chest so that her mother had room to sit down. "Of course."

"I had a talk with Luna," the older woman said, settling on the edge of the bed, next to her daughter. "She explained to me what happened on the Moon. I still can't... really believe all of this, even though, it's so far fetched it has to be true. And a talking cat is proof enough. To me, you aren't the reincarnation of a Moon Princess who lived a thousand years ago. You're my daughter. The little girl I watched grow up into a beautiful young woman. You're Usagi to me. Not this Serenity."

Usagi smiled beautifully at her mother, thankful for those words. Words she had been afraid she would never hear from anyone. She always wondered if her friends, and Mamoru, loved the Serenity they remembered on the Moon, not the Usagi she was here. She also feared that they wouldn't love the combination of the two she really was.

But her mother's simple words reinforced the fact that even if her friends didn't love her for her, at least her mother always would. Her mother would always love her, no matter the person she became, the person she grew into. Even if that person did horrible things, her mother would still love her.

She needed that.

"Thanks, Mom," the teenager whispered, blinking back tears.

The blue-haired woman hugged her daughter tightly. "Your father and I will always be here for you. We can't help you fight, not really. But we can lighten the load when you're home."

The complete acceptance of her mother finally sent tears down Usagi's cheeks and both mother and daughter cried together.

xxx

**AN:** sighs I know this is fairly short, but that seemed to be... the best ending for this chapter. Don't you agree?

**Japanese:**

- fuku: uniform basically

Lovies!


	7. Chapter Six: A Team Once More

**Alone**  
_Chapter Six: A Team Once More  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** Do I own Sailormoon? If I do, I don't know about it, and I'm sure as hell not getting any royalties from it!

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** Edited 03/19/08

xxx

Usagi sighed as she stared down at the photo in her hands. She traced a slender finger over the smiling faces of her friends. Minako, Ami, Rei, and Makoto were all present in the joyful capturing of a summer day at the beach. All five of them were present in the picture, enjoying a day off. A day off from Senshi worries, school, parental supervision. Just a simple, fun filled day. There had been so few of those since she had become Sailor Moon. She cherished every one of them now.

But she couldn't have asked for better friends. She wouldn't change anything that happened to her because of that.

She sighed, putting the picture back onto her dresser, right next to her favorite picture of her and Mamoru. She stood up and dusted herself off, a nervous action. It was time to go. Time to... take her friends back.

"Moon Crystal Power!"

xxx

Mamoru glanced up, his brow furrowing slightly as he felt the familiar tug at his heart. Usagi had transformed, he could feel it. He always felt it when she did. That was how he had protected her even when he hadn't known he was Tuxedo Kamen. The moment she had transformed, he had as well. He supposed he had just been lucky that it hadn't happened around any people.

He stood up from the couch where he had been talking with Usagi's mother and Luna. The black cat glanced up, a feline sort of frown on her face. "Mamoru-san? What's wrong?"

He immediately morphed into Tuxedo Kamen, without consciously choosing to do so. "Usako transformed."

Artemis' eyes widened. "She can't be planning to go alone, can she?"

Tuxedo Kamen nodded solemnly. "I think so," he said softly, starting up the stairs hurriedly. Usagi's mother, Artemis, and Luna followed directly behind him.

He burst into her room, finding it empty and the window open. "Damn it!"

He glanced back at the older woman and the felines, snapping, "Stay here!" Tuxedo Kamen then jumped out of the window, landing on the ground at a dead run.

xxx

Chibi-Usa watched as the dark figure dropped from Usagi's bedroom and run into the night. She blinked back tears as she quickly jumped out of bed – silently – and moved to follow her future father and mother.

She had watched silently from her bed as her 'cousin' sneaked into her room to steal her time key. She knew where her future mother was heading. And she would follow.

She wasn't going to let her parents fall again! It would be just like before if she just stayed here and waited for it to happen! It would be her fault all over again! If she could help, she would. She would find a way, a way to save her parents in this time, and in her own time. She wouldn't fail this time! She wouldn't be the cause of their fall again!

xxx

Sailor Moon continued running down the dark street, knowing somewhere in her heart that Mamoru was following her. He had told her once that he could feel her transformation, like a pain in his heart. She knew he had felt her change. She knew he would follow her.

She knew it because it would always be that way, and had always been that way. Even before Mamoru had been born, when he had been Endymion...

They had been reincarnated, but it wasn't a true reincarnation. Their genetics were the same and parts of their memories were buried, not forgotten. They even acted similar to their previous selves. They... had been moved into a new era with a new life. Not souls who had moved into a new body, a new life, and grew differently than they had before. They were here to save the future from Beryl, at first, and now... from everything else that had come and would come after her.

Would it ever end? Would one evil come after another for the rest of their lives, even up until the thirtieth century? Even through time and distance?

Would they ever truly find peace?

"Usako!"

Sailor Moon gasped, swinging around. She hadn't expected him so soon. It was too early! She had wanted him to catch up when it was too late to stop her. She was nowhere near her destination.

"Usako, wait!" he called again as he came into view. He was holding his top hand in his right hand as he dashed over the small park bench to reach her. "What are you thinking? Going after them alone? Are you insane!" he yelled angrily.

She frowned at his furious tone, and then smiled softly. "Since when, Mamoru, do you have a right to dictated to me how and when I fight and who I should fight alongside?"

He blinked behind his white mask, surprised at her sudden cool tone. "What?"

She sighed, glancing in the direction she had been going. "You're not my boyfriend anymore, remember? You yourself saw to that. What I do is my business now. Not yours."

"It _is_ my business, Usako! We're not together, we can't be together, at least not yet, but I still love you, and I don't want you hurt. And what about your parents? And Shingo? Don't you think they would be upset if something were to happen to you? What about them? Or Luna and Artemis who lost everyone except for you now? And the Senshi? They're still alive, aren't they? How do you think they'd feel if they found out you died going to save them, alone. Don't do this alone, Usako." He touched her shoulders lightly and turned her around to face him, her startled crystal blue eyes darting up to meet his darker ones. "Please, let me go with you. Let me protect you."

Her mouth parted slightly in surprise and she felt the comforting warmth she had been missing these past couple weeks. The warmth that let her know she was loved by the man she desired most.

He took her silence for reluctance and sighed softly. If she wouldn't allow him to accompany her, he would have to follow her whether she liked it or not. He didn't want to do that. He wanted to go as a team. As the team they used to be, one that could defeat anything, could withstand anything, and could survive anything.

"Okay," Sailor Moon said timidly, looking up at him. She smiled slightly. "I might not be able to do it alone. And I won't risk my friends just because you hurt me."

He had perked up at her acceptance, but then felt the familiar stab of pain at the rest of her words. She didn't really want him there. She was only allowing him there because she was wiser than he. She wouldn't let her stubbornness or her pain prevent her friends' rescue. It hurt so much, though he knew he should have expected it.

He deserved it.

"Thanks," he told her, releasing her shoulders. "How are you planning on saving them?" He went right to the point. There was no purpose in standing there and staring stupidly at his former girlfriend. It was his fault; he would have to live with his decision.

And he would, as long as it kept her safe.

"I... We are going to the future."

He blinked. "Excuse me?" The future? What did the future have to do with anything? And _how_ would they get there?

She gave another small, sad smile. "The man who has taken my friends is from the thirtieth century. And so is Chibi-Usa. She came back in time to get the Sailor Senshi's help in saving her parents," she paused, giving him a significant look, "us."

"What!" he nearly choked out as his jaw dropped slightly.

She sniffed slightly, a slight indication she was offended he didn't believe her. "You heard me. We are her parents in the future."

He was silent as he absorbed this bombshell. He...was the father of the pink-haired little girl he adored? Maybe that explained why he cared for her so much. He had thought it was a bit odd to care so much for his girlfriend's cousin, but had brushed it off after the dreams had started. He had put it down to missing Usagi so much and the little girl had reminded him so much of Usagi with her tiny pointed odangos and her cute possessiveness. But maybe he had always felt a connection with the child, a connection only a father and his daughter could have. It made sense, sort of.

He nodded. "Okay. How did you realize this? Did Chibi-Usa recognize you?"

Sailor Moon nodded slightly. "Sort of, though the future version of me has silver hair, so she wasn't sure. I overheard her talking to Puu – the floating cat head that looks like Luna – one day and revealed myself shortly after. She said her mother was once a Princess on the Moon, so I knew it had to be me."

He nodded. "Okay." As he realized something, he frowned. "Why didn't you tell me when you found out?"

"Because you broke up with me right after that. Nothing I would have said would have changed your mind, and I didn't want you coming back just for Chibi-Usa!"

"I..." He couldn't say anything to that. He loved the child, he didn't know_what_ he would have done had she told him before. He didn't know if he could choose between them that way. Either condemn his Usako to die by being with her, or cause Chibi-Usa to never exist by staying away. Neither way would have worked.

"Thank you," he finally said, looking at her softly.

"For what?" she asked, surprised.

"For not telling me before. I... do not think I would have taken it well, given the circumstances."

She was confused as to his meaning, but nodded anyway. He would tell her when he was ready. "Are you ready to go now?"

He nodded. "Yes. Let's go get your friends back."

Sailor Moon shook her head. "Our friends, Mamo-chan."

He started slightly and then a tender smile spread across his face. "Yes, our friends." And with those words, Tuxedo Kamen followed the woman he loved, Sailor Moon, towards the docks where they had first met Chibi-Usa.

They would bring back the Senshi.

Together.

xxx

**AN:** Anyone else think the ending of this chapter was way corny? I do. (sigh)

Lovies!


	8. Chapter Seven: Sailor Pluto

**Alone**  
_Chapter Seven: Sailor Pluto  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SM. Actually, I don't know if I want to. I just want to borrow Mamoru or Endymion for awhile.

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** Edited 03/21/08

xxx

They stood on the small wooden dock, unsure how to proceed.

"Well, she did fall out of the sky here..."

"Do you think it matters where we use that key?"

Sailor Moon sighed. "I have no idea. I've never seen her use it. I'm not even sure how to use it."

Her protector laughed. His laughter was slightly mocking, slightly amused. "You never plan things out, Usako."

She gave him an irritated glare. "I do so!"

Arching an eyebrow, he shook his head. He wasn't going to argue with her. "Fine. How do you think the key works?"

The leader of the Senshi blinked and sighed. "I think it might be like our transformation tools, or weapons, you have to use a phrase or something."

"Stupid! Only I can use it!"

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen swung around to face the childlike voice in surprise. "Chibi-Usa? What are you doing here?" the dark-haired man inquired, frowning. "It's dangerous."

The pink-haired child snorted, crossing her arms. "And where do you get off stealing my Time Key, Usagi-baka?"

The young superhero had the grace to blush. "I didn't want you following, Chibi-Usa."

The regal young girl lifted her chin stubbornly. "It's my home! I have to come! I have to help save Mommy and Daddy! I have to help save everyone, too!"

Sailor Moon opened her mouth to protest, but Tuxedo Kamen put a hand on her arm to silence her. "Alright, Chibi-Usa. But you must promise to listen to Sailor Moon and me, alright? If we tell you to hide, you hide, understand?"

The child's eyes widened and she nodded hurriedly. "I will! I promise! You're really letting me go with you?"

Sailor Moon sighed. "Yes, Chibi-Usa, we are, I guess." She gave her ex-boyfriend a rueful look. She didn't know if she could fight well enough to protect her future daughter, but if Tuxedo Kamen thought it was alright, she'd listen to him.

"YAY!" came the excited childlike cry.

Both warriors shook their heads and chuckled at her exuberance.

"It's not going to be a picnic," Tuxedo Kamen warned.

"I know that!" the little girl snapped, offended.

Sailor Moon smiled slightly at the child. "As long as you realize that, it's fine with me if you come. Now, how do you use this key of yours?"

Chibi-Usa walked over to her future mother and held out her hand. "Give it to me and I'll take us there."

The Senshi of the Moon nodded and pulled the key from around her neck. She handed it to the pink-haired girl. Chibi-Usa took it carefully and then held it above her head as she closed her eyes.

She appeared to concentrate as a soft wind appeared and ruffled her pink hair and pajamas. Within moments, she was floating above the dock and she cried out, "Take me home!"

There was a flash, and Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon found themselves in a dark, cloudy vortex. They glanced around in surprise before Sailor Moon finally realized something.

"Where's Chibi-Usa?"

xxx

Glancing around the familiar space, she felt afraid. Where did they go? Where were they? "Hello? Tuxedo Kamen-sama? Sailor Moon?" She started walking in a direction, tears glittering in her eyes.

She was all alone. What if something happened to them? Then she'd never be born! What if they somehow couldn't make the trip with her? Were they still stuck in the past?

What would happen to her mother then? She couldn't save her without Sailor Moon's help! "Mommy, what am I supposed to do?" she whimpered, wrapping her tiny arms around herself. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how she'd save everyone without Sailor Moon's help.

How was she supposed to do this alone? She was only a little girl!

"Small Lady?"

Chibi-Usa snapped her head up at the familiar voice, and burst into tears as she ran into the waiting arms of the woman clad in a dark sailor fuku. "Puu!"

The woman laughed softly as she wrapped her arms around the tiny child. "Small Lady, what are you doing here? It's too dangerous to come home yet."

The child looked up at the green-haired woman sadly. "But I brought Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen-sama. But I don't know where they are."

Puu nodded and straightened. She took the young girl's hand. "Then let us go find them, hm?"

"You'll help me? But you told me I wasn't to bring anyone back with me!"

The mysterious woman smiled. "I know, but it is alright, Small Lady. You did it to save your mother."

The child nodded, gripping her hand. "Yeah and the other Senshi were kidnapped, too. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen want to save them too. So we all came together. You're really not mad?"

The woman's dark green hair flowed around her as she shook her head. "Of course not, Small Lady. I am very proud of you. You have been through so much and you're handling it very well."

Chibi-Usa blushed slightly. "So, you can find them?"

The one called Puu nodded. "Of course. Come with me," she said, as she led the child off into the dark swirling clouds.

xxx

Sailor Moon sighed. "We've been walking for hours."

"We have not, Usako. It's only been twenty minutes. You exaggerate too much."

"Well, it seems like hours."

"That may be, but it hasn't been. And we'll keep looking until we find her!"

Sailor Moon grimaced. It wasn't like she wasn't worried about the girl. She was extremely worried. But she swore he cared more about Chibi-Usa than he did about her. It was stupid, but she couldn't help feeling jealous. Extremely jealous. And angry.

Just because she was their future daughter, didn't mean she had to give up a part of Mamoru's heart already, did it? He should be hers alone, at least for awhile. She wasn't supposed to have to share him yet. It just wasn't fair.

Of course, she was no longer with him. She shouldn't be feeling so angry with the child. She should simply try to forget that he was ever her boyfriend, her suitor, her life.

"I know," she whispered sadly.

Tuxedo Kamen glanced at her worriedly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, trudging forward. "I'm fine."

He frowned, but let it drop as he continued to walk with her, searching for the little girl they had lost.

After another few minutes, the man clad in black glanced behind him. He thought he heard...

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" a high voice screamed and a small pink bundle threw herself into his arms.

Luckily for the child, Tuxedo Kamen had quick reflexes and he caught her easily. "Chibi-Usa!"

Sailor Moon frowned, but then smiled, stopping and peering at the child in her ex-boyfriend's arms. "We were worried about you."

She shook her head. "I was worried about you both! I thought that I didn't bring you with me!"

"She was very concerned," a soft voice interrupted, startling the small family.

"Who are you?" Tuxedo Kamen demanded suspiciously.

Sailor Moon, however, gasped softly. "Sailor Pluto."

The older woman smiled mysteriously and nodded. "Yes, Princess. I am Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time."

xxx

**AN:** If no one knew who it was, you're way behind on things.

**Japanese:**

- baka: Stupid, silly, idiot

- sama: highly honorific, like -san can be thought of as Mr., -sama is more like "Lord" or "Lady", implying more reverence.

Lovies!


	9. Chapter Eight: Diamond

**Alone**  
_Chapter Eight: Diamond  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** ...Don't own

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** Edited 03/21/08

xxx

Tuxedo Kamen blinked in surprise. "Another Sailor Senshi?"

Sailor Pluto nodded. "Yes. There are nine Senshi in all. I am one of those nine."

Sailor Moon didn't appear to be shocked at this news. "Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Saturn."

The Time Senshi nodded, smiling softly. "I see you remember the time you spent as Princess Serenity, Sailor Moon."

Tuxedo Kamen frowned. "I don't remember that. And I remember being Endymion."

Sailor Pluto nodded. "Of course you do not, my Prince. Earth was always left out of the meetings between the planets because of the darkness that was growing within your planet. The existence of the Outer Senshi was a secret to most of the Solar System. They're duty wasn't to protect Princess Serenity from the evil within. They're job was to protect the Solar System from evil that came from beyond our system. The Inners were to protect it from the evil within. And I... I was to guard from evil traveling through time. Sailor Saturn was – is – to destroy it all if necessary."

He started slightly. "Destroy it?"

Pluto smiled. "Don't worry, my Prince. Now is not the time for her to awaken. In any case, I am glad you are here. Your future selves are in danger and the Senshi's barrier cannot last forever."

Sailor Moon frowned. "What barrier?"

Chibi-Usa chimed in. "The barrier around the palace. The one that was supposed to keep Mommy safe..."

Both warriors looked to Pluto for a more thorough explanation. "I will let the King explain it to you."

Sailor Pluto extended her staff, and before the small group a tiny door appeared. "Go through that door and follow Small Lady to the palace."

Tuxedo Kamen nodded. "Okay," he agreed, taking the child's hand.

"Tuxedo Kamen. Sailor Moon."

The heroes glanced at her. "Yes?" Tuxedo Kamen asked.

"Please take care of Small Lady for me. I cannot leave this place. Not while the Dark Moon family is using it to travel in time."

Both fighters for justice nodded. "Of course we will," Sailor Moon agreed.

Then the small family walked through the door that Sailor Pluto opened for them.

xxx

Sailor Moon looked around in awe. They were in a large crystalline city. A deserted one. Everything stood completely intact, but there wasn't a sign that anyone had ever lived here. "Where is everyone?"

Chibi-Usa sighed sadly. "Gone. They were all killed by the Dark Moon family."

Tuxedo Kamen was also looking around as they walked down the deserted street. The empty city gave him an overwhelmingly lonely feeling. It was a beautiful place, but it lacked life, energy... people.

"Is this Tokyo?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Yes, Sailor Moon," a masculine voice stated from in front of them. "This is where Tokyo once stood a thousand years ago. It is now called Crystal Tokyo."

Tuxedo Kamen gasped, his eyes narrowing at the shadow emerging from the fog in front of them. He stepped protectively in front of Sailor Moon and Chibi-Usa.

Sailor Moon watched as the figure grew clearer, and a masked man dressed in dark purple stopped in front of them. Her eyes widened at the resemblance to her Tuxedo Kamen.

"You..."

The man nodded at Sailor Moon's small utterance. "Yes, Sailor Moon. I am Endymion, King of Crystal Tokyo and of the Earth."

"Daddy!" Chibi-Usa cried, rushing forward to hug the figure. However, she passed straight through him.

Endymion smiled sadly at Chibi-Usa. "I'm sorry."

The small child finally let the tears that had been threatening ever since she stepped back into her own time fall. She sobbed as she stood behind the misty figure and then she ran away from them.

"Chibi-Usa!" Tuxedo Kamen cried, moving forward to follow her.

"Don't. She will be fine here."

"You... You're the voice in my dreams."

The King nodded. "Yes, Mamoru. I am the one who gave you those dreams. I had to test the love between you and Sailor Moon."

"Why?" Sailor Moon cried, aghast. He was Mamoru's future self! Why would he try to test them? He knew them; he had once been Mamoru after all!

"Because it had to be done. It was in preparation for what you will now face. If you would like the whole story, come with me." The misty King then turned, and led the way deeper into the heart of Crystal Tokyo.

xxx

"Recently, a small planet was discovered beyond Pluto. It had such negative energy that it escaped detection until nearly too late. It was approaching our Solar System rapidly, and there seemed to be life on it. The Senshi, the Queen, and I decided to take precautions, just in case, before we attempted to contact that wandering planet."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen listened intently to the King's story of what had become of the beautiful Crystal Tokyo.

"Because we had enjoyed perfect peace for the last few centuries, we were lax in our preparations, and didn't expect an all out attack as early as it happened. The shield Mercury devised had not yet been perfected, but we had thought we would be ready should they prove hostile. My wife always did see the best in everyone..." The holographic image of the King looked away, sadly, before he continued.

"As soon as we deemed the planet close enough for contact, and before we could open a communication channel, our Earth was invaded. Hundreds of youma appeared out of thin air. Chibi-Usa had turned up missing and the Queen left the safety of the palace to search for her. Because the shield had not been tested, when it was finally put into place, it only protected the palace, not the entire city as we had hoped. My wife was caught outside the barrier, and was attacked by a strong concentration of negative energy. The Senshi with her at the time could not prevent it, but instead used their powers to encase her in crystal. She still sleeps within her crystal coffin, waiting until we can save her."

"What about the Imperial Crystal?" Sailor Moon asked confusedly.

The King smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, it was stolen shortly before the attack on Crystal Tokyo. And even if we were to have access to it, only the Queen can use it. That is why Small Lady, my daughter, was sent back to your time to bring help, and the Crystal back with her. In order to save my wife, and the people that are left on this planet."

"There are people left? Chibi-Usa said everyone was killed," Tuxedo Kamen said in confusion.

The King nodded. "Yes, there are a few. A small percentage of the population are in stasis below the earth."

Both Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon looked at a loss. "How are we supposed to do what the Senshi, my future self, and you could not? How are we supposed to beat that?"

The image of the king flickered. "I do not know. But you are our only hope."

"What rubbish!"

Three heads snapped up at the sneering voice that should not have been there.

The King of the Earth gasped softly. "Diamond."

xxx

**AN:** That chapter was amazingly short...

Lovies!


	10. Chapter Nine: Abducted

**Alone**  
_Chapter Nine: Abducted  
__By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** I'm going cross-eyed from staring at the computer... Wait, that isn't a disclaimer... See, told ya... Not only am I cross-eyed, I'm also brain dead. ; I don't own Sailor Moon, though I'd like to borrow Diamond and Mamoru for awhile. Think that would be possible?

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** Updated 03/22/08

xxx

"Diamond."

The white-haired man with an upside-down black crescent moon on his forehead smirked. "Yes, King Endymion. You remember me, then? I'm pleased."

The King of Crystal Tokyo glared at the floating man. "I would of course remember the man who caused my wife's current situation."

"Oh, you mean her eternal sleep? Yes, I suppose I was the cause of that." He sighed in mock pity. "That was a long while ago, Endymion. And I thought you were above petty grudges."

"Petty grudges!" the King exclaimed in offence. "Petty! My wife's life is not petty!"

"Of course not. To you, anyway." Diamond then dismissed the King with a slight flick of his hand. He then turned his deep violet eyes to Sailor Moon, staring a few moments too long. "Hello, Sailor Moon. I have been waiting to meet you."

The way the man said that made Tuxedo Kamen step in front of her. He did not like the implications Diamond was giving off. "Well, now you've met her. Get out."

Diamond threw his head back and laughed, as if Tuxedo Kamen had said the most humorous thing he had heard in years. "So sorry, Tux, but I'm not leaving until I get what I came for. Come here, Sailor Moon," he ordered softly as he stared at her, a third eye opening in the middle of his forehead.

Tuxedo Kamen gasped when he saw the blonde girl he was sworn to protect, float up towards the evil man. "Usako!"

She didn't even appear to hear him! "Usako!" he screamed in anguish.

She floated straight up into the white-haired man's arms, and it was only when the third eye disappeared as Diamond grabbed Sailor Moon's tiny wrist did she snap out of it.

"What?" she asked in confusion before she started struggling. "Let go of me!"

"No," he said simply, yanking her against his chest. He then smirked triumphantly at both the King and Tuxedo Kamen before disappearing with his prize.

"USAKO!"

Kind Endymion watched sadly as his former self broke down, screaming his love's name. It tore at his heart as he had felt the very same pain when Serenity had been attacked, and forced to be encased in crystal. At least he could talk and see her.

"Tuxedo Kamen."

The darkly clad man glanced at him, his mask having long since been thrown away from him. His midnight blue eyes were filled with pain and anger.

"Do not worry overly much. Diamond will not harm her. He wants her as his wife and I think he wants her willingly. We have plenty of time to get her back. And more, I know where he is. Come with me," the King ordered, turning and leading the way into the back of the secret fortress, which was no longer secret.

xxx

Usagi woke up in a very strange place. In a very strange bed. In very strange clothes. She couldn't remember what had happened, or where she was. Glancing around the room, she felt groggy, disconnected. What was wrong with her?

She gasped, her hand moving to her chest. Her brooch. Her brooch was missing! She frantically looked in the bed, her hand finding it near her. She clutched the brooch tightly and breathed a little easier. She still had the crystal.

Wait, hadn't she been transformed before? Why wasn't she still Sailor Moon? She looked down at the white gown in confusion. Who had dressed her?

"I see you are awake, Sailor Moon, or should I call you Serenity? Or Usagi? Which do you prefer?"

She snapped her head up at the familiar voice, suddenly frightened. "Who...? Diamond? You're Diamond..."

He nodded. "And you retain your memories. That is quite remarkable. After that much dark energy, you should have slept a week instead of three days. And you shouldn't even remember your own name, let alone mine. But I'm glad. It means you are strong. Strong enough to handle the energy I will be feeding you. Strong enough... to be my queen."

Usagi gasped. "Your queen!"

"Yes, my queen. You will be my wife, and help me rule the new age on this planet. We'll rule together."

"I can't be your wife! I'm only sixteen!"

Diamond shrugged. "I will wait until you are of age, of course, before touching you. But we will marry, Usagi. You will marry me."

Usagi swallowed nervously. Diamond seemed very unstable, and refusing him outright might put her in danger.

_Mamo-chan..._

"You don't look thrilled, Usagi. Maybe I should persuade you."

"How about you don't?" she asked weakly, watching him warily. "I... I love someone else. I can't marry you!"

Diamond scowled. "You will love no one but me after you're done with the dark energy treatment! You will belong to me! Not Endymion!"

She shook her head. "You may take away my memories, Diamond, but you'll never change my heart."

He laughed at her. "We shall see, Usagi. We shall see." And with those ominous words, he left the bedroom, and Usagi was alone once more.

xxx

Tuxedo Kamen stared at the King in dismay. "She's been taken _where_?"

"Nemesis," the King replied, looking over the small star map in front of him. "It's approximately sixty billion miles away. Apparently, the Dark Moon family has a way to teleport between here and there."

"Then why can't we teleport there and get her back?"

King Endymion sighed, looking at his former self sympathetically. "Because the Sailor Senshi could use teleportation, we didn't devise a system that could do it. We didn't want someone with dark intentions to have access to it or the plans to it. We also didn't really have much of a need. Only the Earth is populated now, as it is in your time. No one lives on the Planets as they did in your previous life, Mamoru. Who needed to teleport anywhere? As long as the Senshi could if needed, we never built a device that could do the same. And because your Senshi are hostages, and my Senshi are keeping up the barrier, we can't teleport."

Tuxedo Kamen growled and slammed his fist against the table. "Then how are we going to save her?"

"I had at first thought he had taken her to the old Palace, but it seems he is being more careful than I gave him credit for. He does not want to chance her escaping or you coming to rescue her."

"That still doesn't explain how we're going to get Usako back!" Tuxedo Kamen snapped, furious with his other self's avoidances. "What do you have in this century that can help me get her back!"

The King smiled ruefully. "I apologize for trying your patience, Mamoru. It is odd speaking to another me and I find myself falling back on explanations when I'm trying to think. I don't know yet. But we'll find something or someway to save Sailor Moon."

"You mean you don't know!" Tuxedo Kamen cried furiously, nearly reaching up to strangle his future self.

"Yes, Mamoru. It means that I do not know how to save Sailor Moon."

xxx

**AN:** (sigh) Now this is where it starts to get _very_ different from the series. I know before it was different, but slightly the same, but you have to expect that. After all, just because the Doomy dude came and stole the Senshi doesn't change some things. Like Diamond's obsession with Serenity.

Lovies!


	11. Chapter Ten: ChibiUsa's Disappearance

**Alone**  
_Chapter Ten: Chibi-Usa's Disappearance  
__By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** I have hospital bills up my ass. I only _wish_ I could make money off of this. Sadly, that's not the case. So obviously I don't own it.

**Pairing:** Usagi/Mamoru

**AN:** Updated 03/23/08

xxx

Mamoru stared over empty Crystal Tokyo. It was disconcerting to see such a futuristic place so deserted. Shouldn't it be full of life, people, and children? It was beautiful, and uninhabited. Cold, lifeless.

He had seen the crystal coffin that held the future version of Usagi. Neo-Queen Serenity looked like she was sleeping, but it was a sleep of death. She didn't move, didn't bat an eyelash, nothing. She looked... almost dead.

He had looked at her distantly. It bothered him seeing her like that, but she wasn't truly his Usako, and with the pain and anger of having his own love taken from him, seeing another version of her at death's door didn't seem as painful as it should have. She looked like Usako, but she didn't _feel _like her to him.

From the first moment he laid eyes on her, he had _felt_ her. It was almost impossible to explain. Maybe it was some leftover phenomenon from when he had been Endymion, since he remembered _feeling_ Serenity the same way.

It was almost a little tickle in his mind and his heart. He always knew when she was near and he could sense her distress or pain if it was strong enough. It was the same in both lifetimes. When he first met Usagi, just as the crumpled up test paper hit his head, it was like a soft click resonated in his heart.

And everything fell into place.

He had been awful to her. She scared him. Her openness, her love for everything, her complete trust in everything and everyone, and the way her eyes seemed to bore into his soul terrified him.

So he resorted to being a complete jackass instead of fleeing in terror like a little boy. It had seemed like a good idea at the time...

Unfortunately, they kept running into each other, so often in fact that it became difficult to keep the facade up. And when he began to notice the missing time in his days, which he later found out was because he was transforming into Tuxedo Kamen, he became even worse. He was frustrated and angry that he couldn't remember how he had gotten home or where he went yesterday, or why he had a bruise on his arm, and he found it remarkably easy to take it out on the blonde, childish girl.

Just riling her up made the anger dissipate and he couldn't stop. She made it better, even before he knew her and came to love her again.

And now... she was gone.

She wasn't here to make the agony in his heart lessen. And he wasn't sure he'd be able to get her back, to let her heal his heart more. He had hurt her so much before this, he wasn't even sure he deserved to get her back.

He was losing hope.

xxx

Usagi opened her eyes slowly, the hazy shadows of the room she was in all blurring together. She was tired, so tired... She didn't even know why she kept fighting to stay awake anymore.

Why did she fight the blissful nothingness of sleep...?

And finally, she gave in, and closed her deep blue eyes again, giving into slumber.

xxx

Diamond watched her from the shadows. He hadn't moved from the soft chair in nearly two days. Only at Sapphire's insistence did he eat and only when his brother brought it to him. He purposely ignored his brother's warnings and his pleading about letting Sailor Moon go.

He couldn't do that. Not after he had just gotten her. He knew it was a dangerous obsession. He had stared for hours at the holographic image of Neo-Queen Serenity and he didn't care that it was bordering on madness anymore. He had to have her. She was beautiful. She was pure...

She was the exact opposite of him. She was from the White Moon, while he was from the Dark Moon. She was pure while he was corrupt. She desired peace. He wanted revenge.

She was everything he wanted to be and couldn't. Not if his people were going to live. He should have been able to grow up on a planet with flowers and plants and with sunlight. He should have been happy.

He should have had the life that she had led, but he hadn't. It was people like her who banned his entire race to Nemesis. But a part of his heart yearned to return, to work out something, to be what she was.

He wondered if he had lived on the Earth instead of on Nemesis, if he would have been the one to capture her heart. Endymion did not deserve her. He cherished her, he desired her, and he would kill for her.

He wanted her too much.

And he didn't give a damn.

xxx

The King of the Earth walked up behind Tuxedo Kamen as he sat on the railing of the balcony that overlooked the city. He was concerned for his past self. Even now, only hundreds of years of learning patience and how to deal with crisis kept him calm. His wife was counting on him to help everyone, to save everyone, even her. And yet, he knew if it came down to a choice between her and the rest of the Earth, Serenity would want him to choose the people.

She'd die to protect everyone. And she'd do it with a smile on her face.

And his daughter, their only child... was missing.

"Tuxedo Kamen," King Endymion began, alerting the younger man that he was there. "Chibi-Usa is missing. I can't find her anywhere."

Endymion wished he didn't have to impart more bad news on the man, but he needed his help. He couldn't save his daughter as a hologram. He couldn't...save anyone this way. When Tuxedo Kamen glanced at him in growing horror, he wished he had been strong enough to protect everyone...

His daughter should have been safe in the palace gardens! The barrier the Senshi erected should have protected her! Had someone lured her outside the protections?

"I need your help to find her."

Tuxedo Kamen looked torn and Endymion couldn't blame him. Torn between wanting to save the woman he loved and the child he hadn't had yet, but loved just the same.

Finally, the warrior straightened, the despair disappearing from his gaze. This was the man who had lived through being the only survivor of a car crash that took his parents away. This was the man who was used to being abandoned and unwanted by everyone. This was the man who pushed all the pain and anguish aside to think, to act, to live.

"I can't save Usako right now. We don't know how to reach her. I can search for Chibi-Usa though. Do you have any idea where she could have gone?"

The King shook his head. "No, I only found Puu here..." He held up the large floating kitty head. "Perhaps you could follow it. It is attuned to my daughter, it should seek her out. If she is able to be found..."

Tuxedo Kamen nodded, and took the ball. He started into the palace.

"Tuxedo Kamen, please... Protect and save my daughter."

Mamoru glanced behind him and nodded in understanding at the King. "With my life."

xxx

**AN:** Yes, it's short, but that's a good ending spot.

Lovies!


	12. Chapter 11: A Choice

**Alone**  
_Chapter 11: A Choice  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** I write mediocre fanfiction. I highly doubt that anyone would think I'm making money off of this. That's flattering though.

**Pairing:** Usagi/Mamoru

**AN:** Edited 03/23/08

xxx

"Diamond."

The white-haired prince of the Black Moon looked up at his brother's insistent voice. "What, Sapphire?"

His younger brother glanced at the sleeping woman on the bed, then at Diamond. "Wiseman would like to speak with you."

Diamond snorted, leaning back in the chair. "Now, I suppose? The creep is getting above his station..."

Sapphire hesitated. "I think...he has ulterior motives, brother."

The white-haired brother made a dismissive motion with his hand. "Oh, I'm sure he does. They do not concern me."

"But Diamond-"

"Enough, Sapphire." Prince Diamond stood from the chair as he set his wine down at the small table beside it. "I will see what Wiseman has to say."

Sapphire choked back the rest of his comment, cursing his brother's obsession. He glared back at the sleeping princess, hating her for simply existing. She rendered his brother's mind empty except for her. He wasn't even heeding the warning signs...

Perhaps he should talk to Emerald. She was bitter over Diamond's capture of Sailor Moon, she would be happy to help her get out of there.

Or kill her.

xxx

Prince Diamond walked into the small, dark room. His shoes clicked quietly on the cold marble floor as he approached the one known only as Wiseman who stood – or rather floated - near a dark crystal ball.

"You wanted to see me?"

The skeletal figure turned around. "Yes, Your Highness. I wanted to introduce you to the newest member of our family."

The pale-haired man arched a delicate eyebrow sardonically. "Oh?"

The hooded creature nodded. "Yes." He then motioned to the dark energy swirling just across a glass divider, almost like a test tube.

Prince Diamond obediently looked, his eyes widening in surprise despite himself. "That's... Princess Small Lady Serenity..."

"Yes, that is Small Lady. Soon...she will mature into a woman, and with her powers of the Moon twisted to the dark, she will become a formidable ally."

"How did you get her? She's been protected for so long... The Four Sisters and Rubeus failed... We failed to stop her from going back in time. She was so hard to capture..."

"It was quite easy, Your Highness. All it took was to understand the child."

Prince Diamond frowned at the dark figure. "Understand her?"

Wiseman nodded. "Yes. You shall see. When she emerges."

"Fine," the Prince said. "Is that all?"

"For now, yes." Wiseman suddenly turned to peer at his prince. "You have kidnapped Sailor Moon, correct? How is the dark crystal's affect on her?"

"Slow. It's very peculiar. As a human, she should have succumbed easily. But apparently...she isn't human. She's Lunar."

Wiseman nodded. "She is Princess Serenity, born thousands of years ago on the moon around this world."

Diamond made an irritated sound. "I know that. But since she was reincarnated on Earth, she _should_ be human. She's not. She's full Lunar. Meaning her body will resist the power of the Dark Moon. Our races are exact opposites in power."

Wiseman appeared to shrug. "She will succumb. No one is immune."

"Perhaps... But she is unlike any other. You've never tested the power of my kind on a member of the royal family of the White Moon." Diamond then turned and left the small room.

The Wiseman chuckled to the unconscious form of Chibi-Usa. "It may kill her before she is under our control... but either outcome suits me just fine."

xxx

Tuxedo Kamen entered the stream of Time nervously. He glanced around the dark void, uncertain how he was supposed to find Sailor Pluto.

"I am right here, Your Highness."

Tuxedo Kamen glanced behind him and sure enough, a tall Sailor Senshi stood before him. "Please, don't call me that."

She smiled mysteriously. "But you are the Prince of the Earth, and you will be King..."

The dark-haired man shook his head angrily. "I don't care about that."

"I know. Nonetheless, that is what you are. You should start getting used to it. Why have you come here, Your Highness?"

He sighed, deciding to let it go for now. "Chibi-Usa is missing. We were hoping you might know how to find her."

"Her toy should lead you to her," the mysterious Senshi stated calmly.

He shook his head. "It isn't leading me anywhere. It just bobs in the air."

Sailor Pluto nodded. "That might be because she traveled through the time stream."

Tuxedo Kamen blinked and then grew angry. "She what? Why didn't you stop her?" he demanded angrily. Wasn't Pluto supposed to be the little girl's friend?

"I could not. She was not as she once was. She was also accompanied by the one you call the Doom Phantom. Diamond and Sapphire should still be in this time."

"Shit!" He didn't know what to do now. Should he travel back into time to save his future daughter, or stay to figure a way to save the woman he loved? Not only were they separated by distance as before, now they were separated by time! How could he save both? Could he save both?

Would he be forced to lose one of them?

"You must choose, Prince Endymion. Your love or your future child. You are only one man. You cannot go after both."

"Can't you help? I don't know what to do! I can't lose either of them!"

"I cannot leave this place. I must attempt to keep Diamond and his men out of the time stream, or at least limit their movements. You must decide."

"I can't! I won't choose between them! Usako is my life, she taught me to trust, to heal, and to love! I won't lose her to Diamond. But Chibi-Usa is the result of the love between Usako and I... How can I give up on her?"

Sailor Pluto took pity on the man. "I will tell you this: Small Lady will not be harmed any time in the near future. She is safe. Sailor Moon, however, is fighting for her life as she's being bombarded by Dark Energy."

Tuxedo Kamen frowned at her. "You swear to me that Chibi-Usa is safe and will be safe?"

Sailor Pluto nodded. "She will be safe. She is being used by the Doom Phantom, and he has no plans to destroy her yet. I swear it."

The dark-haired superhero nodded firmly. "Then I will save Usako first. If... I can get there."

Pluto smiled her mysterious smile again. "There is a way for one who is not of the Dark Moon family to traverse the distance between here and Nemesis."

"How?" he demanded.

"Travel to the Moon, Your Highness. Seek out the old teleportation device below the Crystal Palace. Even King Endymion does not know it exists. It was a way that the Earth and the Moon could keep in constant contact when you were Prince of the Earth. It is still operational."

Tuxedo Kamen frowned. "How will going to the Moon get me to Nemesis?"

"You will know when you get there. Now go, Your Highness. You do not have much time if you are to save Sailor Moon."

The tuxedoed man nodded, and darted back into Crystal Tokyo, intent on saving his Usako.

Sailor Pluto watched him leave sadly. "I hope you succeed, my Prince."

xxx

**AN**: Ack!

Lovies!


	13. Chapter 12: A Visit to the Past

**Alone**  
_Chapter 12: A Visit__ to the Past  
By Selenity Jade_  
_Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** I am not in any way, shape, or form, taking credit for the Sailor Moon characters in this story. I am simply borrowing them.

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** Updated 03/25/08

xxx

He stared at the odd shaped device with a grimace. He was supposed to figure out how to work this? What did Pluto take him for? Ami? Maybe he had better ask his other self how this thing worked. Although King Endymion hadn't seen this device, he did appear to have some sort of knowledge of futuristic machines.

Tuxedo Kamen, on the other hand, was completely clueless. He could work microwaves and television sets. He could even operate a car and give it minor maintenance. This thing, however, was out of his depth.

"Maybe this... button looking thing..."

The masked man pressed a crystal shaped button and the entire room lit up.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

xxx

"Emerald."

The green-haired woman turned to look at him, annoyance shown in her eyes. "What do you want, Sapphire?"

The man smiled slightly. "How would you like to get rid of Sailor Moon?"

She snorted. "And go against my Prince? He wants her here, did you forget?"

"She is a distraction. A deadly distraction. She puts everything we've worked so hard for in jeopardy. She needs to go."

Emerald flapped her green fan in anger. "Don't you think I know that? I love Diamond! It should be me he adores, not that half-brained twit! But he won't even leave her room! How are we supposed to get close to her!"

Sapphire smiled. "We might not have to. Perhaps we should be a little lax in our security and allow that caped idiot to rescue her. Of course, he'd have to get by my brother, but I'm sure we can find a distraction for him."

Emerald looked at him worriedly. "But if Diamond were to ever find out."

"He'd have you killed. Yes, I know."

"Easy for you to say! You're his brother! No matter what you did he wouldn't kill you!"

Sapphire smiled bitterly. "He just may if he finds out I conspired to let the woman he loves go. Like I said, she is dangerous. To us all."

"And if Tuxedo Kamen does not come?" Emerald asked softly.

"Then we kill her."

xxx

Mamoru looked around the bare, devastated landscape of the moon. He was a bit disorientated from the harsh transportation unit, as well as the slight amount of gravity on this small planet.

He didn't even have a clue as to what he was supposed to be looking for. Just... that here, somehow, he would be able to reach Usako...

"Prince Endymion."

He swung around at the voice, his eyes widening. "You're..."

The silver-haired woman nodded. "Yes, I am Queen Serenity."

"How... Aren't you dead?"

The Queen smiled. "Yes, Endymion, I am. My spirit, however, lingers here. I am protecting this place."

"I see," he said, looking at the woman who had ruled the moon thousands of years ago. At least in this time... He himself hadn't seen her in over a thousand years, back when he was Endymion.

"Why have you come here, Endymion? Has something happened to Serenity?"

Mamoru sighed. "She's been kidnapped. I need to find a way to Nemesis, a dark planet out beyond Pluto. Sailor Pluto instructed me to come here."

The ancient Queen smiled. "I see. Come with me. We will get you to this Nemesis." She then turned and led the way through the ruins of an ancient lunar civilization.

Mamoru looked about him as he followed her, his heart sad at the destruction that Beryl and Metallica did to this place so many years ago. He remembered it as such a beautiful city. It was always glowing, full of life and joy.

Would it ever be restored again?

Queen Serenity stopped just outside the still standing palace. It was just barely standing, though. It had obviously had a few explosions topple parts of it, and the years have not been kind to it.

"Where are we going?" he asked her.

"Inside," she replied, opening the door without touching it. "You will be the first living person to walk these halls since the day Serenity died over two thousand years ago."

"It... makes me sad, this beauty that has long been forgotten by everyone but Usako and I... Even the Senshi do not remember being here."

The Queen paused and looked back at him. "We will not be forgotten for long, Endymion." She smiled. "Someday... the moon will live again."

She then moved into the darkened palace. "Come this way, Endymion, if you wish to save my daughter."

xxx

Tuxedo Kamen followed the ancient Queen deep into the crumbling palace. He could still remember these halls when they had been intact, and it was quite disconcerting to see them now. As Prince Endymion, he had walked these halls to see the woman he had swore to marry. He had traversed the maze-like palace to see the woman he would have – and did – die for.

He could remember thinking how alive the palace seemed. Even the walls had had a life of their own. Perhaps it was because it had been standing for thousands of years, housing each generation of lunar royalty. Perhaps the unique power that belonged to that royal line had leaked into the walls.

But it didn't matter. It had seemed alive to him then. And now... The walls were dead.

And it finally hit him that the place he had loved as much as he had loved the Princess here had been truly destroyed. It hadn't been his home, but it felt like it when he had visited. His princess had been his home...

The place had served as a symbol of that.

And it had been destroyed.

He had failed to protect his love's home back then and he couldn't remember that. He remembered his death. He died. He remembered a lot of his life with Serenity, but he hadn't realized why he had died or what his death meant until now. And it... burned inside his heart as it finally hit him.

He had failed to protect her. His death had destroyed her.

What if... he failed again? What if they survived this mess, only to have another person come after the Crystal? What if he died again?

Would she survive or would it be a replay of this time over and over again?

Could they ever truly be free enough to love one another?

"Endymion, stop dwelling on what you cannot change."

He blinked, glancing up from the floor to behold the queen who looked so much like Usagi. "How did you...?"

She smiled sadly. "I know because it is written on your face. Just as the love you felt for my daughter had been there too. I could not forbid such a thing when I saw how much you truly loved my daughter, even when the Earth had housed so many evil beings. You died to protect my kingdom and my daughter. And I'll forever be grateful to you for that. Do not fear a repeat of this. Soon, my daughter will grow again. And together, you shall protect each other."

She smiled and then motioned into a darkened doorway. "In here, Endymion. You will find the way the Senshi were able to visit their homes while they stayed her protecting my daughter. This room teleports people to all nine planets and their moons. However, it can also be calibrated to teleport to any object within this distance. It uses willpower to direct one's energy to that planet. If you will yourself to Nemesis enough you should be able to go there."

Tuxedo Kamen smiled slightly. "I think my desire to go there will be enough. It is Usako I am trying to save."

The Queen nodded. "Good luck."

xxx

**AN:** I like Queen Serenity.

Lovies!


	14. Chapter 13: Purity

**Alone**  
_Chapter 13: Purity  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG_

**Disclaimer:** Anyone else get tired of these? I don't own it.

**Pairing:** Chrno/Rosette

**AN:** Updated 3/26/08

xxx

Tuxedo Kamen entered the room hesitantly. The room started to glow slightly as it felt a presence inside of it. Looking around the crumbling chamber, he saw various panels against the walls and a few holographic screens.

He wasn't sure if he had to activate it or if just willing himself was enough. He walked over to the most important looking panel on the right and glanced it over. It appeared to be written in the musical, artistic language of the lunar people so long ago.

He had learned it once, but it had been over a thousand years since he had employed that knowledge. It looked almost like gibberish to him now. Pretty gibberish, but gibberish just the same.

He did recognize one of the symbols though. It was one he would never forget. The symbol for the females of the lunar royal family. It used a small crescent moon as its base, and a specific symbol for the princess or queen it represented. It wasn't his Serenity's symbol, he'd never forget that. Maybe a symbol of his love's mother or her predecessor.

He decided it didn't matter and straightened. How was he going to get it to work? He turned to ask Queen Serenity, but she wasn't in the doorway any longer. It seemed that he was supposed to work this out himself.

_Figures._

He sighed and studied the panel, searching his memories for the language he had learned shortly before the Moon's fall. It was difficult. He had only learned it because he had been in love with the Princess of the Moon and he hadn't used it. Not once did he remember ever having employed the language.

It was almost impossible.

His eyes scanned over the panel to his left, frowning as he came across another familiar symbol. This one he recognized as Mars. Well... he was getting somewhere, wasn't he?

xxx

Usagi opened her eyes slowly. Her entire body felt heavy, like lead. She lifted her head slightly, glancing around. She was alone for once. The few times she had awoken before, she had sensed Diamond watching her. Rather than face another conversation with the dark prince, she simply pretended to continue sleeping. The pretending didn't last long, soon she really had fallen asleep.

Whatever they were feeding her, this dark energy he called it, was making her sick and very tired. She was beginning to wonder if she'd survive it.

It was killing her.

Her heart felt the same, so she knew it wasn't having the effect Diamond desired. She would not change her mind about him, not even with this dark energy. She would never join his side.

She was too strong for that. And she knew it.

She rested her head back onto the pillow, and stared up at the dome-like ceiling warily. She couldn't even try to escape. She was too tired. She didn't even know if she could walk.

Would he come for her?

Would Mamo-chan come?

"I see you're awake, Sailor Moon."

Usagi turned her head, and blinked at the green-haired woman standing in the doorway. She hadn't expected Emerald.

"You don't look like you'll be changing sides any time soon," she commented almost absently, and walked towards the bed. "I'm glad."

The blonde-haired teenager blinked, confused. "What?" Her voice sounded weak, even to her.

Emerald smiled, though there was no humor in it. "Prince Diamond is going to do nothing more than kill you with the dark energy, isn't he? I suppose that will take care of you for me."

Emerald walked towards the dresser, her back turned towards Usagi. The younger woman was unable to answer that. What could she say? She simply stared at Emerald's back.

"We never wanted this, you know," the jade-haired woman said softly, almost sadly. "Prince Diamond only wanted us to be able to live on this green planet. He was too angry to try to do it peacefully, but he wasn't really a cruel man. He wanted revenge for his people, for us having been sent to that dark planet. He didn't think it was right that we were being punished for something our ancestors did two thousand years ago to some queen we can't even remember."

Emerald turned to Usagi, watching her. "Before we came here, he wanted to conquer. He was angry that you people got to live here, carefree and unburdened by a planet without life. But he wasn't a killer. And neither was I. Or Rubeus. Or sisters. Sapphire wanted to settle things peacefully, even. We simply wanted to live where we wouldn't be in the dark anymore."

Usagi's sad blue eyes followed the older woman's steps. "You could... have simply asked. I... my future self... would have allowed it. I know she would have... because I was always...so forgiving, so tenderhearted."

Emerald nodded. "I know that now. But back then, we all pictured you Earthlings as monsters. Cruel monsters who'd abandon children to etch out a life where plants cannot grow. And my Prince was too angry to see reason anyway. He was burdened with our suffering and it enraged him. Sapphire counseled peace, but he did not listen. I would have never gone against Diamond's wishes."

She paused, looking out the window. "Soon after my Prince turned fourteen, something changed. Wiseman appeared and Nemesis awoke, filling the place with dark energy. Even if we had wanted to come peacefully our hearts had started to change. Everyone has darkness in their hearts. The dark energy expanded that darkness, made it grow, until we were no longer ourselves. I cannot feel anything but anger, hatred, and my obsessive love for Diamond, which perhaps isn't really love anymore. But I remember a time when I laughed, joyfully, and danced and played as a child would and I remember a time when I had been happy."

She looked at Usagi. "Even knowing you are dying and with your death there will be no more competition for Diamond's attention, I cannot feel happiness. And it was then that I realized, we had all changed. We are not ourselves any longer. We're puppets."

"Then fight back," Usagi whispered tiredly.

"We can't." Emerald smiled bitterly. "Everyone can be turned with the dark crystal. Everyone, but you. You will die because the dark energy cannot grasp onto darkness in your heart. You are pure. It's amazing, Sailor Moon. That there exists a pure being on this planet or any planet for that matter. Even that Small Lady brat had been turned, but you cannot."

Usagi gasped, pushing herself up. "Chibi-Usa? What have you done to her?"

Emerald shook her head. "I have done nothing to the brat. Wiseman has turned her to our side. She calls herself 'Black Lady' now."

"No!"

The woman nodded. "Yes. As well as your Sailor Senshi friends. All of them have been forced to his side. You should have fallen too. But your purity... How can you be so pure?"

Usagi forced back tears, staring at Emerald. "I can't help what I am. I simply am. I cannot hate. I can forgive anyone. I cannot help those traits. That is who I am. Who I was born to be and who I am now. Not even the dark crystal can change that. I was born a thousand years ago on the moon, a princess. I carry the Silver Crystal. Only one of my lineage can wield it. And they cannot do it with darkness in their hearts."

"I see. It is fortunate then that you cannot use it here."

"I will get my friends back, Emerald. I will get Chibi-Usa back."

The older woman nodded soberly. "I would have expected no less from you."

"I will not die here!"

Emerald smiled slightly. "Then escape, Sailor Moon. Save your friends. Save us all."

With those words, the green-haired woman departed and left a confused, weary, and anguished Usagi alone with her fears.

xxx

"Got it!" Tuxedo Kamen cried, pushing a button. His entire body glowed, and then he disappeared.

Queen Serenity watched from the shadows sadly. "I hope you win her back, Prince Endymion. She needs you. Good luck."

xxx

**AN:** I guess we're getting somewhere... slowly.

Lovies!


	15. Chapter 14: Intruder

**Alone**  
_Chapter 14: Intruder  
By Selenity Jade  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** ...Do I really want the hassle of owning Sailor Moon?

**Pairing:** Mamoru/Usagi

**AN:** Updated 03/27/08

xxx

Sapphire crouched by the small patch of grass just as Tuxedo Kamen appeared in the bare clearing. The blue-haired man looked up and frowned at the interloper. He then straightened and regarded him silently for a moment.

"You are Tuxedo Kamen."

The black-haired man nodded curtly. "Where is Sailor Moon?"

"In the palace," Sapphire replied, motioning to the dark city beyond him. "She is well guarded by my brother, however."

Tuxedo Kamen watched Sapphire suspiciously. "Why are you being so helpful? You are of the black moon family. You have their mark."

Sapphire smiled humorlessly. "Prince Diamond is my brother. His obsession with your Sailor Moon is dangerous to our cause. It would be best if she were to leave here."

The darker man nodded and walked towards the city behind Sapphire.

"Do not hurt my brother. He is not himself."

Tuxedo Kamen frowned, glancing over his shoulder at the man. "If he gets in my way, I may have to."

Sapphire sighed. "...I suppose you are right. We would not hesitate to hurt those in our way, either."

The masked man nodded curtly as they both understood each other and walked away from the brother of the man who kidnapped his girl.

Sapphire stared down at the tiny patch of grass sadly. That grass was all that would grow on Nemesis, and both Diamond and Sapphire had tried to nurture it so that it wouldn't die.

But the blue-haired prince was beginning to notice the grass was yellowing slightly. The dark energy was growing even more powerful than before. Soon... not even they would be able to live on this planet.

They had to win a place on Earth or they would die.

But destroying its inhabitants...

It was too cruel for Sapphire.

All he had ever wanted was a home that was green.

xxx

Tuxedo Kamen frowned from his perch atop the building across from what he assumed was the palace. It was the biggest building in the area, and the most glamorous - if black stone could be glamorous.

The whole planet depressed him. It was hard to be there. The darkness, the negativity of the place weighed heavily on him. He couldn't imagine what it was doing to his pure-hearted Usako.

If Diamond touched a hair on her head...

The black-haired man cut off a growl. He had to get off this evil planet. It was beginning to affect him. He wasn't normally so inclined towards violence, even if he had been furious when she had been kidnapped. This was different. This time, he could barely concentrate on getting her back safely.

What he was feeling was intense hatred for Diamond. He wanted to kill the dark prince.

It frightened him, this hatred. His Usako would be disappointed in him. He had to hold onto himself. He mustn't let this place affect him.

He glanced around the barren town. There wasn't a person in sight. It was quite odd for such a large city. Where were all the inhabitants?

It didn't really matter, but he didn't want to be spotted sneaking into the palace. After scanning the area again, he hopped off the roof and ran into the palace.

xxx

Diamond chuckled as Usagi stared at him. "Feel any different yet?"

She hesitated. "I'm tired and I feel sick."

He shook his head. "Your body is stubborn, my Princess."

"I am not your princess, Diamond."

He actually smirked. "Soon, you will be. Your Tuxedo Kamen is here you know. In the palace."

Usagi gasped softly, eyes widening. "He's here?"

The white-haired man nodded. "Oh, yes. He came for you, finally. Too bad he won't succeed. Even as we speak he is being... detained by one of my generals. And even now, the dark energy of Nemesis is affecting him. He will be turned to our cause. Just like you will."

She shook her head. "No! He will not join you! Not for any reason!"

The Dark Moon Prince smiled almost condescendingly. "He won't have a choice, Sailor Moon. The dark energy on this planet... it affects everyone. He will no longer care about anything but the darker emotions. He will join us. And soon, so shall you."

Usagi pushed herself to her knees on the bed, glaring at him. "Leave him out of this! You already have me! Let him go."

"I'm sorry, but he chose to come here and interfere with my plans for you. I will not let him off so easily." Diamond stretched slightly. "I should go check up on our guest, wouldn't you agree? Make sure he isn't hurt. He would be a valuable ally..."

With those words, Diamond walked silently out of the bedroom where Usagi was being held. She stared at the door, aghast. Her Mamo-chan could not be taken! He would fight them, and the dark energy, wouldn't he?

She crawled out of the gigantic bed weakly. She would save him. She wouldn't let Diamond and his cronies take him away from her too! She couldn't fight alone...

She watched her feet take one step, then two, towards the door he had left. She hoped he had left it unlocked... Diamond did think that she couldn't move. And she couldn't before. But a new purpose gave her the strength and the will to escape. She had to help her Mamoru.

"Mamo-chan," she whispered softly, touching the door knob. She jiggled it slightly and to her horror...

It was locked.

xxx

Emerald frowned as Diamond rushed passed her. She knew that Tuxedo Kamen had broken into the palace to save Sailor Moon and she was hoping... he could have saved the woman, gotten her out of here.

She really didn't _want_ to kill her after all... Sailor Moon seemed to represent everything Diamond wanted for them. It would be wrong to kill someone who represented what they wanted to be.

She sighed sadly, leaning against the wall. Perhaps she should go unlock the door to that blonde's room. Let her escape if she can.

She would try to save her love, of course. But after that, they would escape, and perhaps someday, that mysteriously pure girl would save them all from the darkness.

It wasn't fair that her people were sent to Nemesis simply because they refused to follow the Moon Queen.

But would following that past queen have been any worse than being stuck on this abysmal planet?

Emerald made up her mind and walked towards the way Diamond had come. She'd let the woman escape. There was no reason except Diamond obsession with her for her to be kept her. He refused to see that her body wouldn't accept the dark energy and she'd die before she turned to their side.

She was going to be doing Diamond a favor by saving this woman he claimed to love, no matter how much it rankled Emerald, he should be forever grateful to her.

Should be, but Emerald knew he would be furious. He might even kill her.

But she had to.

She touched the knob leading to girl's room and unlocked the door. She then walked away. If Sailor Moon tried, she could escape now. If she didn't...

It was her own stupidity that killed her.

Emerald wouldn't interfere any longer.

xxx

**AN:** I actually don't have much to say. I'm tired.

Lovies!


	16. Chapter 15: Alone

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 15: Alone  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailormoon...

**x**

Usagi blinked as she heard the small click on the door. When no one opened it, she hesitantly reached out to grip the handle and turned it. The door swung open effortlessly. She frowned.

Odd.

She poked her head out the door, glancing both ways down the dark hallway. When she didn't see anyone, she crept out of the room. She clutched the locket that held the Silver Crystal to her chest as she picked a random direction, and quickly – or rather, as quickly as she could in her weakened state – walked away from the bedroom that had been her prison.

She wasn't going to let Tuxedo Kamen be taken without a fight.

**x**

Diamond stared down at the unconscious man who had won Sailor Moon's heart. "That was easy."

"He was weakened by the dark energy of Nemesis, Your Highness. It wasn't much of a fight."

"I can see that, Rubeus. You do not need to state the obvious. After all, you could not beat him on Earth."

The red-head scowled at the back of his prince's head. "I am aware of my failings, Your Highness."

"I'm glad the lesson finally hit home. Take this trash to the dark crystal. More negative energy will make the transition faster."

"Yes, Your Highness," Rubeus acknowledged, leaning down and hoisting the unconscious tuxedo-clad warrior over his shoulder.

Prince Diamond watched the lowest member of the Dark Moon family walk way with the newest member of their army over his shoulder. Everything was working out as planned. He had Sailor Moon in his clutches and Tuxedo Kamen would no longer be a problem. The only thing he had left was to destroy the Crystal Palace on Earth and that planet would be his.

And he would have the queen he had always wanted.

Life was wonderful.

**x**

Usagi stumbled out of the palace and fell to her knees. She assumed she was at a back exit somewhere, since it didn't seem to be as grand as she pictured palace entrances to be.

"You should go, Sailor Moon," a voice told her, and her head snapped up. She stared in wide-eyed amazement at Emerald. "Your boyfriend has been captured and it will be impossible for even me to get him out. Wiseman and a few of our people are wrecking havoc on Tokyo in your time. Go save your world, Sailor Moon."

"I can't leave him here!" Usagi cried, staring pleadingly up at Emerald. "I can't abandon him!"

"Why not? Didn't he abandon you and your love for dreams?" Emerald smiled coldly. "Wiseman imparted that knowledge to us. That there was a rift between Sailor Moon and her protector, Tuxedo Kamen. He threw away the so-called love you shared because of a dream. You should pay him back for that. I would."

"He was only concerned about me!" Usagi yelled, furiously defending the man she loved. "He didn't want me to die because he was with me! That's all! He still loved me and he wouldn't abandon me here! I will _not_ leave him here!"

Emerald snorted. "Pure-hearted as always, I see. Not even the pain of being pushed aside by some dream will make you feel anger towards him when his life is in danger. You are too forgiving, Sailor Moon. That could be your downfall."

"That is my strength! That is why Diamond cannot turn me with his negative energy. I don't have negative feelings! Sure, I get angry and jealous and upset, but I don't seek to hurt anyone! I can't hurt anyone! My emotions aren't dark!"

Emerald nodded. "I know." She glanced towards the palace. "Diamond will be missing you soon. You are too weak to save your boyfriend." She then looked back down at kneeling woman in her white dress. "You should go back to the Earth. I am sure Wiseman or Diamond will use Tuxedo Kamen to get to you sometime. You can attempt to save him then."

"No! I won't leave him!" she cried stubbornly. She wouldn't leave. Even if she died, she would not abandon Tuxedo Kamen, her Mamo-chan! She just couldn't...

"Sailor Moon," a voice said from behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to spy a blue-haired man she couldn't remember seeing before. "Your time needs you. Your planet needs you. One man is not worth that. Not even your protector. He created enough of a distraction that you could escape. You should use that...and leave this planet. Save him when your energy returns."

Tears slide down her pale cheeks and she shook her head. "I can't leave him," she repeated again.

"Then we shall make that choice for you. Tuxedo Kamen will not be hurt, just changed. Perhaps you will get him back, perhaps not. But you must leave now." Sapphire leaned down and touched Sailor Moon's head. "Goodbye, Sailor Moon."

And with a swirl of dark energy, the tiny teenager disappeared.

"She should have made that choice, Sapphire."

"She wouldn't have chosen this on her own." Sapphire turned towards the palace. "Wiseman is up to something and I fear for my brother. She is a distraction to him, and yet..."

"She may be our only hope to survive," Emerald finished for him. "She may be Diamond's only hope too."

Sapphire nodded. "Yes. I'm glad you understand, Emerald."

The green-haired woman snorted. "I understand because you made me understand. We are betraying your brother, Sapphire. And it makes me ill to do so."

"Me as well," Sapphire agreed. "But there is no alternative. Wiseman's strings are too attached to my brother to let him see reason. He needs Diamond for now; he will not ease his control over him."

After a moment of silence, Emerald spoke. "What do you think he did with the rest of the Senshi?"

Sapphire shrugged. "I do not know. I cannot find them anywhere."

"Do you think they are dead?"

He hesitated. "I do not know."

"I don't know why, Sapphire, but I hope not. I think that girl needs her friends to fight. And if she can save them... she can save us too."

"And Diamond."

She nodded. "Diamond too."

**x**

Usagi screamed as she found herself back in Crystal Tokyo. She slammed her fists into the ground repeatedly as she began to sob. Why did they do that? She needed to save Tuxedo Kamen! She had to! She couldn't fight without him...

She couldn't fight alone...

She was alone...

Her friends were gone and now he was gone as well...

She couldn't fight alone... She didn't know how! She wasn't supposed to be a fighter! She wasn't supposed to have to do any of this! She was born a princess, not a warrior! It wasn't supposed to be this way!

She was only supposed to fight with the Crystal and only when everything else seemed lost! She wasn't supposed to dust monsters or save her protectors! She wasn't supposed to have the world's fate in her hands! At least...not alone...

She sobbed as she rested her forehead against the smooth marble of the street, arms wrapping around her middle. She shook silently with her forceful weeping, unable to stop or scream again.

She didn't want to be alone anymore...

It was just like a thousand years ago and Endymion had died before her eyes. After seeing her friends die, and then the man she loved, the man she had sworn she would forever love, she couldn't do it anymore. She had chosen death instead of living a life alone.

She couldn't do it without her Mamo-chan, her prince. She couldn't fight without her Senshi. She couldn't do anything alone...

How would she survive? How could she save everyone, even her future daughter, all by herself?

She was worthless. A failure. A klutz. _Mamo-chan... Everyone..._

"Usagi."

She lifted her head from the ground, tears staining her cheeks. "King Endymion..." And just the name and the figure standing before her, so like her own love because he _was_ the man she loved, sent her into another heart wrenching torrent of sobs.

"I failed," she whispered, crying from her soul. "I failed... and they're gone. I'm alone... Alone."

**x**

AN: Wow, I hope that worked on SOMEONE.

Lovies!


	17. Chapter 16: King Endymion Returns

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 16: King Endymion Returns  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** I'm broke... ; So I don't own SM.

**x**

The holographic King crouched beside the sobbing girl, his heart hurting to see the younger version of his wife crying on the cold marble street, unable to offer any comfort but the emptiness of words. "Usagi, you are not alone. I will help. For my wife and for you."

Usagi looked up, her blue eyes shimmering with tears. "How? You're injured, remember? You're...just a hologram now."

He nodded. "Perhaps, but...if you use the Silver Crystal, it could heal me, without endangering yourself. You have the power. You're strong, Usagi. Stronger than anyone else I know. Or will know. Heal me and I'll help you get your friends and Mamoru back. We'll save everyone, Chibi-Usa, my wife, the Senshi... Everyone."

She nodded. "Okay," she said, instantly trusting the man her love would turn out to be. He would never betray her. Not for anything. She knew this, it screamed inside her heart. Nothing would tear them apart, not even the time stream itself. Nothing would make him hurt her. Nothing.

He smiled tenderly. "Follow me, Usagi."

She stood up, and after a moment, he led the way deep into the abandoned city. She didn't know where he was leading her and she didn't care. She had a version of her prince with her and it helped... a little. He hadn't disappeared with Tuxedo Kamen's capture, so he had to be saved or come back, she hoped.

She blinked as the King stopped in front of what appeared to be a tomb. She glanced over the small building nervously as King Endymion opened the door with a small whispered command that she didn't catch.

She couldn't help the gasp of surprise when she entered behind him. A very injured King was lying on a pallet in the middle of the room, surrounded by several people on various other cots. She didn't recognize any of them, and they appeared to be dead.

"King Endymion, I can't bring back the dead... I wouldn't know how..."

He smiled sympathetically at her. "You do not have to bring back the dead for we are not dead. We are in a state of suspended animation so that we do not die. We did this willingly until our Queen can awaken and save us. I would not leave her alone, not willingly. I would not die, so I came up with a way to suspend our deaths."

"Who are these people?" Usagi asked quietly.

He nodded to the beds. "Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Saturn are over there," he said as he pointed out the short, blonde Senshi next to the marine-haired woman next to her, as well as the small woman dressed in a dark sailor fuku. "Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Healer, and Sailor Star Maker with their princess, Kakyuu."

Usagi's eyes widened. "There are more Sailor Senshi?"

He nodded. "You should meet them shortly in your future."

She frowned at his phrasing. "Should meet them?"

He sighed, and motioned her to come closer. "Your time... and my time aren't in the same line."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Usagi, that this is not your future. By traveling back in time, Diamond created an alternative universe. Meaning this future that you see will probably not come to pass in your future now. Diamond and his men might show up at approximately the same time as he did in this future, but because of your knowledge of the future, you will have changed it, maybe prepared for it or something all together different. I do not have memories of Diamond or fighting any of the Dark Moon family from when I was young and named Mamoru."

She watched him worriedly. "Meaning the future can be changed."

He nodded. "Yes, of course. My world will not disappear, but instead, live on, in another dimension if you will. Your future may well be very different because of this significant change in your life. You're growing, you're having experiences my Serenity never had. I do not know what your future holds. Only Pluto does."

Usagi looked around at the Senshi surrounding her. "Meaning Chibi-Usa might not be born in my time. I might never meet the other Senshi..."

He sighed. "Yes."

"Things are always more complicated then they seem," she murmured as she grasped her locket.

Nodding, he watched her. "Yes, they are. Will you heal me?"

She bobbed her head, and opened her locket, the one that held the Silver Crystal, over her head. "I will heal you all."

"Usagi, don't, you'll-"

But he was too late, the gentle, pure glow from the Crystal started, and his words were lost as he gazed upon the beautiful form of the woman who would become his wife. Her forehead glowed, and within moments, a crescent moon appeared. And then, he found his holographic self slammed out of existence, and his eyes opened for the first time in months.

Usagi had always been something.

He glanced around the room to find the Senshi that had been injured awaking as he had, only more confused. Looking towards the girl who had healed them all, he found her slumped to the floor, exhausted.

Pulling himself out of bed stiffly, he went to her, crouching beside her. "Thank you, Usagi. You may rest now."

She nodded wearily and promptly fainted. She fell limply against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely. He hadn't wanted her to heal everyone at once. It could have killed her.

He had underestimated her, just as he had done in the past.

"Good job, Princess," the King murmured as he watched Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune approach him. Their eyes were on the tiny form in his arms. Luckily, their first question was easy to answer.

"What happened, Your Highness?"

**x**

King Endymion gently set Usagi in the large guest room down from his own. He watched her breathe silently for a few long moments before he left the room, intent on researching more about the Dark Moon family, if he could find anything in the database about them.

He was confused and slightly disoriented by the feelings he had now. Before, he felt, but it was a remote feeling. His hologram had been his consciousness, yet it hadn't been connected to him that well. Now, not only was he feeling his body's exhaustion and the urgency of having to use the facilities, he was feeling more and more for the tiny version of his wife. Not sexually, of course, she was still a teenager, and he had never been one to go after women half his age or even glance at them with anything dishonorable in mind.

But he found himself feeling more than concern for the tiny girl. She intruded on his mind more than necessary. He missed his wife, Serenity, more and more each moment. The pain of their separation had been dimmed before too. Now... he couldn't sleep and he wasn't hungry, despite the fact he hadn't eaten in a very long time.

He nearly collided with Sailor Saturn as he turned the corner and he smiled. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head slightly, looking up at him with her characteristic somberness. "It is alright, Your Highness. I wished to speak with you."

He nodded, motioning her to come with him. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"The young Serenity, Your Highness."

"My daughter?"

"No, the past version of our Queen."

He blinked, looking at her curiously. "Why?"

She didn't respond for a moment. "She is injured, Your Highness. In her heart. It is not darkness that is there, but it is similar. I saw it when I first woke up. She needs to heal before she can fight. The Dark Moon uses negativity within a person to destroy them or turn them. She must not have that injury to exploit."

"How do you propose we heal something like that, Saturn? She's hurting because her Tuxedo Kamen has been captured, her fellow Senshi are gone, and my daughter as well! How can you heal that when only getting them back will heal it?"

She shook her head. "That is not what I mean. She needs to... believe in herself, believe in the power she has with her friends, the love she shares with them, and her prince. She will have to fight each of them, when she goes back to the past. She will have to awaken each of them to rid them of the Dark Moon's control."

He nodded. "You have a point, as always. But I am unsure how to give her that confidence. She is young still..."

"Two things must be done."

He arched an eyebrow. "And those would be?"

"She should venture to the Moon. Her mother's spirit still lingers there."

"And the other?"

"You must go with her."

**x**

**AN:** I have no idea where this is going... well, I do, but I don't...

Lovies!


	18. Chapter 17: Depression

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 17: Depression  
Rated: PG_

**Disclaimer:** Oh, heck. Bite me. If I were sued, they'd get like five bucks. I'm definitely overwhelmed by bills now, and don't make enough to be making money off of this!

**x**

Usagi opened her eyes slowly, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling. She remembered coming back from Nemesis, though she didn't know where she was. She wasn't too concerned however, as she did remember King Endymion before she passed out. She knew he would have taken care of her.

The ache in her heart grew with each breath she took. Even with the help of the King, she still felt so alone. Mamoru was gone... stolen by the Dark Moon, by Diamond. She wanted to cry, to scream, to destroy the room, anything, anything to let out the pain in her heart.

And she couldn't even get up the energy to go to the bathroom, which she so desperately needed.

She remembered this feeling and hated it. She had felt similar to this when her Prince had died on the moon. She had felt a smaller version of this when he had been brainwashed by Beryl...

She had felt like this when Mamoru told her he didn't love her because of his dreams...

Would their relationship be anything more than just pain? Could they truly survive all of this? Would her love be able to bring him back? Could anything?

She didn't know anymore. She didn't know if she had the energy anymore. She couldn't deal with losing anymore people, even if she got them back. It was too hard, too painful for her.

She just wanted to live in peace...

A knock interrupted her thoughts. She tried to ignore it, but the persistent person on the other side knocked again.

She sighed and sat up, pulling the blankets tightly around her. "Come in!"

Usagi blinked as the blonde-haired Outer Senshi poked her head into the room. "Hey, Odango."

Blinking again, Usagi frowned. "Only Mamo-chan calls me that..."

Uranus smirked slightly. "Oh, we had this argument centuries ago. You'll probably have it with the younger me too. I won't stop, you know."

Sighing, Usagi leaned against the headboard. "Did you need something?" she asked, aware of how rude it sounded, but she really wasn't feeling up to having company.

"Breakfast is downstairs if you're hungry."

She nodded. "Thanks, but I'm fine."

Uranus shrugged. "I figured as much, but Michiru wanted me to make sure."

"Michiru?"

Nodding, Uranus elaborated, "Sailor Neptune."

"Oh."

"I'm Haruka, by the way."

Usagi nodded. "Nice to meet you," she said, trying to sound convincing.

Sailor Uranus laughed. "No need to put up the act for me, Odango. Just rest. The King is planning something as we speak, so all you have to do is wait until he figures it out."

The younger woman frowned. "I don't think..."

Uranus cut her off. "Don't worry about it. Come down when you're ready," she ordered and then shut the door to stop further protests.

Usagi frowned again; she was irritated they were taking control of the situation. Even if she didn't feel like fighting, the least they could have done was ask her what she thought... Just because she was younger than their centuries of experience didn't mean she couldn't help.

She blinked as she suddenly realized she wanted to help plan. She couldn't let them save her Mamo-chan all on their own. That was her job, her responsibility. He was her life, and she'd be damned before she let anyone else beat her to it.

She smiled weakly and crawled out of bed. She then headed towards the bathroom for a long needed shower.

It was time.

**x**

She walked into a sober dining room. Each pair of eyes glanced her way as she strode in. She was unnerved by the sudden attention and hesitated. What were they staring at?

"Come in, Usagi," King Endymion said with a small smile, motioning to the seat beside him.

She nodded and walked over to sit down. She felt awkward sitting among people who knew her future self, as if they were judging her now.

"I'm glad you could make it, Sailor Moon," the aquamarine-haired woman said with a smile. "I was worried."

Usagi shook her head. "I'm fine."

Three pairs of female eyes blinked at her in complete disbelief, while the King simply pretended he wasn't paying attention to their conversation.

"I am," she asserted firmly.

"Alright, Odango. We're not arguing with you."

"You gave me a look though," Usagi pointed out.

Saturn laughed softly. "You seem to know everyone well for someone who just met us."

Usagi smiled suddenly. "I remember Uranus and Neptune from when I was Princess Serenity, though your names weren't Haruka and Michiru then."

"You do?" Neptune asked in surprise. She didn't remember anything from her past life, none of them did. Except for Sailor Moon, it seemed.

Usagi nodded. "My mother and I traveled to Uranus and Neptune once, when I was young. I remember it." She gave Uranus an irritated look. "Though you were not so disrespectful as to call me Odango then."

Uranus smirked. "Perhaps it is because I was waiting for the right time."

Usagi rolled her eyes. "Or perhaps because odangos are an Earth food and there were no such thing on the planets."

Neptune nudged her partner, Uranus. "She's got you there, Haruka. Outwitted by her again."

The blonde snorted. "Whatever happened to our lovable, air-headed princess?"

Neptune smiled, patting Uranus' shoulder. "She grew up, of course."

Usagi watched all of this with a blush. She glanced at King Endymion, only to find him looking at her curiously.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Saturn suggested I let you go to the Moon. I think that would be a good idea."

She blinked. "The Moon? Why?"

He smiled. "You'll see when you get there. It is best if I do not spoil it."

Sighing, she nodded. "Alright, I'll go."

"Thank you," he told her softly.

"How will I get there?" she asked.

"Apparently there is a teleportation device below the palace. Your Mamoru found it after being advised by Pluto."

She nodded, trying to hide her reaction to hearing his name. _Mamo-chan... Where are you?  
_  
"You may go after breakfast, if you wish."

Usagi smiled in thanks and took a bite of her food. She didn't know exactly what it was, something egg-like, but it didn't matter.

She didn't taste it anyway.

**x**

**AN:** Hmmm. I thought this would have been ending by now... and it is... slowly getting there. I'm not happy with it though... This story in general I mean.

Lovies!


	19. Chapter 18: Diamond's Anger

**Alone  
**_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 18: Diamond's Anger  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own. If I did, I would hire someone to shampoo my carpet, not do it myself.

**x**

"You aren't coming with me?"

King Endymion shook his head. "No. This journey you have to make on your own. When you return, we will travel into the past, you and I."

She blinked. "You're coming with me?"

He nodded. "I have to save my daughter and I can't... just wait for you to save everyone."

Silently agreeing, she turned towards the panel in front of her. "I'll be back, I guess," she muttered, pressing the button.

With a flash of bright light, she felt her entire body drop away, and within moments – a blink of an eye – the darkened palace room was replaced by the landscape of the moon.

"Now what am I supposed to do?"

**x**

Diamond stared at the unconscious form of Tuxedo Mask, or rather, Prince Endymion. The dark-haired man was stronger in his Prince form. It was actually rather strange, having all these forms. Couldn't they have one identity like most living beings? Why bother with a fighting form, a normal form, and a royal form. It didn't make sense to him.

Unfortunately, it wasn't up to him to decide the man's fate. Wiseman had stepped in immediately, and had 'informed' him that Tuxedo Kamen was stronger as Prince Endymion and that to completely control him, one must control the Endymion form of him.

It was completely bizarre. After all, he was Prince Diamond. He wasn't anything else. And he wasn't about to parade around in some stupid outfit and call himself another name either. But Wiseman had treated each form as if they were separate people living in the same body.

It didn't matter. As long as he got to control the man Sailor Moon loved, that was enough.

He felt his lip curl slightly at the reminder of the woman who had escaped him. He couldn't believe she even had the energy to get off the bed, let alone escape the palace undetected!

It was maddening.

After he had found out she was gone, he had gone into a blind rage. He had killed a dozen droids who had been stationed around the throne room for the pure pleasure of killing. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen any of his incompetent underlings. He would have enjoyed killing _them_ more.

His queen had slipped through his fingers. He felt the growl coming on again and resisted the urge to destroy the room around him.

She had to have had some help, but who would dare disobey him? Who would dare!

He would find out, though. Soon, he would find the culprit who had let his queen escape.

And he'd kill whoever was responsible.

His eyes flickered towards the sleeping prince, scowling. What did she see in this fool? He wasn't anything extraordinary. He wasn't beautiful, not like Diamond was. He was blah. Nothing distinguishing about him.

What made him so special?

He resisted the urge to kill the prince, knowing that Wiseman's plans usually were good ones. But if this prince so much as looked at him wrong...

He smirked at the thought.

He hoped Endymion would.

**x**

Emerald winced as she heard the throne room's doors slam open. "He's still very angry," she uttered to Sapphire, who stood beside her.

He nodded. "Of course."

"We're lucky-"

"Shut up!" he hissed, silencing her. He knew Diamond was looking for the person or persons responsible for helping Sailor Moon escape and he wanted no one to utter anything that might lead Diamond to them.

Who knew who was spying? In fact, they were lucky that they hadn't been seen letting her go, or rather, Sapphire forcing her to go.

"Sorry," she said, batting her fan in irritation.

"We'll be going back into the past soon," Sapphire stated. "Wiseman and Black Lady have already gone, and as soon as this new one awakens, we shall all go. It's time to end this."

"Sapphire?"

"What?"

"Why are we conquering the past? We came for this time, right? What does the past have to do with it now? We only began there because the rabbit escaped to the past. Now that she's on our side, why are we destroying it?"

He paused. "I'm not sure. That has been bugging me too."

"Whose idea was it? Diamond's or Wiseman's?"

"Wiseman's."

"He's dangerous. I don't trust him. There is no purpose in conquering the past! Why would we want to live in that technologically inferior time? We wanted Crystal Tokyo."

"I don't know!" he snapped, giving her an irritated glare. "But Diamond still trusts the walking skeleton and we will follow my brother's orders!"

She nodded. "Of course I'll follow Diamond's orders, Sapphire. I'm just saying..."

"Well don't. Shut up, and stop thinking. Leave that to those of us more qualified."

"Hey!" she cried. "I'm not stupid!"

He sighed. "I know that. I apologize. I'm just angry."

"Me too, but I'm not taking it out on you."

"That's because my rank is higher than yours and I could kill you if I chose."

"You wouldn't though. You need me."

"I do not need you for anything!"

"You will need my help to locate Petz and her sisters."

He scowled. "I have no interest-"

"Do not lie, Sapphire. You wish to have their – or rather her – help in case Wiseman tries something."

He snorted. "Mind your own business, Emerald."

"Only I know where they are located."

"Shut it, Emerald."

She shrugged and laughed, turning her back on him and walking away.

He scowled at her back before muttering softly, "Petz..."

**x**

Rubeus scowled as he appeared on the ship. He ignored the giggling sisters and made his way to the bar. Pressing a panel, it disengaged from the wall and swung open.

He made himself a stiff drink, completely aware that all four pairs of eyes were on him. He chose to ignore them, however, and downed the beverage.

"Rubeus?"

He didn't bother to turn around. "What, Cooan?"

"Is something the matter?" she asked softly.

He rolled his eyes. He was completely aware of the infatuation of each of the girls. They all worshiped the ground he walked on. It served his purpose, though. It made them obey him. But Cooan was the worst. She might even love him.

It was annoying.

"Prince Diamond and the rest of our comrades are journeying to the past."

"What? But I thought we were the ones who were supposed to defeat this time."

He snorted. "The plan changed. The Senshi are no longer a threat now that Wiseman holds them. They are putting all of their energy into this one move."

"But..."

"Silence!" He swung around to glare at her. "I am not in the mood for your stupid questions! I am your superior. You have no right to question _me_!"

She flinched back, watching him with wide violet eyes. "I'm sorry, Rubeus."

He growled and tossed his glass against the wall.

Without another word, he left the room, and four stunned women watched him go.

"He's mighty grouchy today," Beruche commented calmly.

"He should be," Petz said quietly. "After all, we're now useless."

"We are not useless!" Cooan snapped angrily.

"We're the weakest of Prince Diamond's troops, Cooan," Karaberas replied. "We're expendable. That's why they sent us here."

"If we would have failed, there was always more to take our place, after all," Beruche put in, stretching. "So she's right. We're useless."

"I wonder who's coming," Petz commented absently, glancing out the window of the invisible ship.

"Probably everyone," Cooan responded. "That's what Rubeus said."

Karaberas sighed softly. "Now I'm depressed."

"Me too."

"Maybe we should go check on Rubeus."

"I don't think so. He's very angry."

"Then we're just going to mope?" Cooan demanded angrily.

Petz shook her head. "No, but let's wait until Prince Diamond gets here. Maybe we won't be brushed aside."

Beruche laughed. "I don't think that's possible. We're _always_ brushed aside."

The other three sighed. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

**x**

**AN:** Some more movement towards the past... More introductions of characters. yawns

Lovies!


	20. Chapter 19: Endymion

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 19: Endymion  
Rated: R (Language)_

**Disclaimer:** I'm about to go to work. Work isn't fun. If I owned SM or was making money off of this story, I wouldn't be working now would I?

**x**

He didn't know where he was.

He didn't know why he couldn't open his eyes.

But more importantly, he didn't know his own name.

Why couldn't he remember anything? Why couldn't he move? Was he dreaming? Who were those people speaking just within hearing, but too far to understand?

Why couldn't he move!

And why did it fucking hurt so much?

He couldn't even voice that pain with a groan! What the hell was wrong with him!

"Shouldn't he be awake by now?" a feminine voice inquired softly.

He could finally understand the voices! That was something, at least.

"His body is still adjusting to the influx of dark energy. It may be awhile. He may wake up in stages. But I believe it will be soon," another voice replied and this one was definitely male.

"Will he remember anything?"

There was a slight pause. "No, that is unlikely. The level of dark energy he's been infused with should have eradicated everything."

Did _they_ take his memories away? Or was it an accident? Was one of them a doctor and he had an accident?

If one of them _was_ a doctor, then why the bloody hell didn't one of them give him pain medication?

He groaned, surprised he could. Finally. About damned time.

"Is he waking up?" the woman asked shortly after his vocalization.

"Possibly," the man answered. "Endymion, can you hear me?"

He tried to tell the dumbass that of _course_ he could hear him, but it simply came out as a grunt.

How irritating. How was he supposed to communicate without sounding like a brain-damaged idiot?

Wait, his name was Endymion? It... felt familiar. Familiar enough that perhaps it was his name. Endymion, hmm? Good enough name. It held personality. At least it wasn't something like Bob.

"I see. Shortly you should be able to talk or open your eyes. You're having problems because of the energy of this planet. You'll adjust to it soon."

He wanted to ask, "What planet?" but didn't strain to voice anything. It was tiring. The two whole sounds he had made wore him out. He could feel slumber dragging him under, and didn't hear anymore of the conversation.

**x**

The next time he was aware, he finally opened his eyes. They wouldn't focus right, but that didn't matter. He _felt_ them move and his world wasn't black anymore. It was a blur of darker shades, but not black. It was almost enough to make him less irritated.

Almost.

"Good, Endymion. You're waking up. Do you remember anything?"

He shook his head, slowly it towards the voice. His eyes strained to focus on the pale, blurry figure, but they wouldn't cooperate. Damn it.

"I see. Your name, as I've said, is Endymion. You were attacked and sent to this planet, which is what caused your memory loss and pain. You are on Nemesis. You're inside the palace."

"Attacked?" he croaked out, startled by the harshness of his voice.

"Yes. This planet is home to refugees that survived the conquering of our homes, Earth and the Moon. You are from the Earth. The prince of the Earth."

"Prince?" It sounded correct.

"Yes. You were forced out of your home and now you're here with us. The planet we're on has a lot of dark energy and it's amazing you survived it, Endymion. You're in the palace of Prince Diamond, the ruler here."

"Who?"

"Who attacked you? The person who sent you here was Queen Serenity, who now rules the Earth."

He frowned. Serenity... It sounded familiar... A woman was doing all of this? "Why?"

"She has extraordinary powers, and deemed us as dangerous to her cause. She threw everyone off the Earth who did not fit her idea of conformation."

He scowled. What a tyrant... And it was _her_ fault he was in this condition and couldn't even remember his own name? It angered him. How dare some woman throw him out of his home? How dare _anyone_ do this to him?

"I see you are angry, Endymion. Would you like to join us in taking back our home?"

He thought about it. He didn't really want to. He wanted to destroy this woman alone. He didn't like these people and wasn't sure if he could trust everything they said. After all, he couldn't remember shit to contradict them.

"Prince Diamond is always looking for worthy warriors to join us. And I heard that you were quite ferocious with a sword."

He felt his lips turn upwards. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing to join them. For now, in any case. He could always strike out on his own soon enough. Besides, what else was there for him to do? They could kill him in his helpless state if he refused.

"Fine."

**x**

Diamond glanced up as Sapphire walked into his throne room. He arched an eyebrow at the smile on his face. "What happened that made _you_ so happy, brother? Usually you're all frowns."

Sapphire walked the rest of the way towards his older brother, smirking now. "Prince Endymion is awake."

Diamond's other eyebrow went up. "I see. Is he a willing servant now?"

Sapphire's smile faded slowly. "He's rebellious, but he's willing to work with us after my tale of his appearance here."

"I see."

"He is stubborn and has a strong will. He will follow orders I think, but because he doesn't have much of a choice and he sees that. But he genuinely feels anger towards Queen Serenity. And I think it could grow to hatred quick enough and soon he will fight beside us willingly, instead of grudgingly."

"Good," Diamond stated, setting his wineglass down. "How is he physically?"

"Sore and tired, but coherent."

"Good. Let him rest until he's well, then bring him to me."

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Stop that! I'm your brother. Why are you so stuck on formalities?"

"You're the Prince."

"So are you, Sapphire. I simply do not call myself King yet. Not until we achieve our goals will I feel I have earned that. We're related, we're royalty. You do not have to use titles with me."

"Yes, Your Highness, I do," he said and walked out of the room.

Diamond scowled, watching him. Why was he so set on pushing him away? He loved his younger brother and would do anything for the man. They were all they had growing up and Sapphire had always been there for him, helping him, and comforting him when he needed it. And he had done the same for him.

He remembered a time when Sapphire called him brother, or Diamond, or even Mond, when he couldn't pronounce his name as a child.

He didn't know what was wrong with his brother and it worried him. Had he hurt Sapphire in some manner? Or was something else pushing him away?

Every time he broached the subject of the rift between them, Sapphire responded coldly.

Of everyone else, it was Sapphire's loyalty he trusted the most. It had always been unwavering, unrelenting, unbreakable. Now...

He wasn't sure.

What had happened to his little brother? Could he even trust him anymore?

It was unthinkable!

But he couldn't shake the nagging doubt.

Would Sapphire betray him?

Could his little brother do that to him?

The answer, unfortunately, was still uncertain.

**x**

AN: Coolies, huh? Sorry about the language but Mamoru is no longer Mamoru now and is instead Endymion filled with negative energy. Cursing happens then, at least in his thoughts when he's grouchy.

Lovies!


	21. Chapter 20: Serenity

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 20: Serenity  
Rated: PG_

**Disclaimer:** I can't even spell tonight, and I doubt anyone who owns, receives royalties, etc. from Sailor Moon would have that problem. Nor would they be working 8+ hours on their feet. So all characters contained within this story are not mine, however the plot is. No copying!

**x**

Usagi looked about the devastated moon sadly for a long moment. "Mother?" she called hesitantly, taking a step towards the barely standing palace.

"I'm here, Serenity," the gentle voice she remembered so fondly replied and Usagi turned towards its source.

She smiled slightly. "Hi."

Queen Serenity smiled back. "Hello, daughter. It has been awhile."

Usagi laughed. "Only a few months for me. I was here right before I fought Beryl and won."

The Queen arched an eyebrow. "Time does not affect me. I simply know it was not recently."

Usagi nodded. "Good. I... would hate to have you aware of the thousands of years that have past up here. It would be lonely."

Blinking in surprise, the Queen then smiled softly in pleasure. "You always were such a thoughtful child, Serenity. I am thankful that I do not sense the passage of time. I had always thought that I would be reunited with your father when I passed away."

Usagi was surprised. She didn't think much about her past-self's father, she didn't remember him. At all. "I'm sorry, Mother, that you must be here."

The gentle Queen smiled reassuringly. "Do not be sorry, dear. Someday, I will be able to rest."

"I hope it is soon," the young woman replied softly.

"What brings you here, Serenity?"

"I don't know," the blonde admitted softly. "The King, the future version of Mamoru, Endymion I mean, said that I should."

Cocking her head, the Queen motioned them to a small white bench that looked sturdy enough and was amazingly intact. When the both sat, the Queen finally asked, "What has happened? Your Endymion was here not long ago and went to retrieve you from a planet called Nemesis."

Usagi looked into her lap, tensing. "He... was captured and a few of the Dark Moon family forced me to escape. I... Mamo-chan is in their hands and I couldn't save him."

The Queen watched Usagi sadly. "He is alive, is he not?"

Usagi nodded. "I think so, yeah. I think... No, I would have known if he had been killed."

Queen Serenity nodded. "Then there is always hope. Come with me, daughter, and I will give you the power to save your Endymion."

Usagi blinked as the Queen floated towards the west side of the palace, and followed after her. She didn't know what she was getting into, but she'd do anything - _anything_ - to save Mamoru.

**x**

King Endymion waited for two days for the young version of his wife to return from the moon. He busied himself with repairs and strategies to combat the Dark Moon family, but the time still crawled by. He was worried about the girl he sent alone to another planet.

He wished he could have gone, but he knew that this was a journey she had to make alone. He didn't know what lay there or why Saturn felt she should go, but it didn't matter. He had learned long ago to trust the younger Senshi's judgment. She was uncannily wise as a child and even more so now that she was over a thousand years old.

A knock on his study door interrupted his musings and he glanced up from the blueprints of the 'new' palace. "Come in," he called.

The door opened and Sailor Star Fighter poked her head in the door. "Saturn says that young Usagi is coming back soon. You might want to be there."

Endymion nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Seiya."

The woman shrugged. "It's always been for her, not for you," she said and left the doorway.

The King sighed ruefully and shook his head. Then he headed down the dim, vacant hallway towards the basement stairs.

He arrived there in short order to see the room very occupied with all of the conscious Senshi. Everyone but the Inner Senshi and his wife were present, even Sailor Pluto. He blinked at her, throwing a questioning glance at her. She smiled that mysterious 'I know all' smile and nodded her head towards the spot where Usagi should appear.

He mock glared at her before sighing. He would just have to be content to wait. He would find out what all the fuss was about soon enough, he supposed.

He glanced down when he felt a presence beside him and smiled at Sailor Saturn. "Do you know what's going on?"

Saturn looked up at him soberly and nodded.

"Can you tell me?"

She shook her head. "You will see, Your Majesty."

He sighed irritably. "Who called everyone here? Only I sent her off and now it's a royal event?"

She smiled. "It is, King Endymion."

He frowned suspiciously at her. "You and Pluto drive me crazy."

The Senshi who still appeared so childlike actually smirked. "We know, Your Majesty." She then paused. "I do hope that Small Lady is alright."

King Endymion flinched inwardly. His daughter... Where was she? Was she safe? He was a horrible father to let her go to the past in the first place and now... He had allowed her to be kidnapped from right under his nose.

How could he face his wife after losing her like that? Their only child...

"She will be fine, Your Majesty," a voice interupted, and he glanced down at the black feline at his feet.

He smiled slightly. "Hi, Luna. Where have you been?"

She sat on her haunches and licked a paw. "Playing kitty cat. Didn't want to be noticed as we snuck around. Luckily most beings do not think 'pets' are intelligent beings."

He nodded. "Anything useful?"

Artemis rubbed against Endymion's leg in greeting before sitting beside his partner and mate. "Later. We'll tell you after this."

"Do you two know what's going on?"

Luna shook her head. "No, Your Majesty."

"Damn it."

The cats chuckled, turning to glance at the teleportation pad. "Soon?" Artemis asked.

Pluto answered. "Any moment."

"Will someone please tell a poor King what is going on?" Endymion demanded irritably. He wasn't used to being left in the dark. It was beginning to drive him crazy.

He opened his mouth to threaten both the Silence and Time Senshi when a flash of light interrupted him.

He covered his eyes with his arm until it faded, and then blinked his eyes a moment to clear the afterimages from them.

When he could see again, he gasped along with each of the Senshi, excluding Pluto and Saturn. There, in the center of the room, stood the young Usagi they had seen a few short days ago. Only she was different.

Her hair was now silver and her forehead was adorned with a crescent moon. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought it was his wife. But the youth in her face and in her cerulean eyes disputed that first assumption. This was the Usagi he had sent to the moon.

She was Serenity now.

**x**

AN: FROWNS

Lovies!


	22. Chapter 21: Confessions

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 21: Confessions  
Rated: R_

**Disclaimer:** I wanna own Endymion, but unfortunately, since he is a drawing on paper, that's impossible. sigh

**x**

Endymion stood before the pale-haired Prince of Nemesis, and he felt nothing but hatred. He didn't like the cocky son-of-a-bitch. He didn't like the superior way he drank his red wine. He didn't like the haughty look in his lavender eyes. He didn't like the condescending tone in his voice. He liked nothing about this man.

It was irrational, this instant hate he felt the moment he walked into the room. He didn't understand it, but he wasn't about to question it. Better to hate and be suspicious than to foolishly trust someone.

He wouldn't have been so stupid as to trust this Diamond, though. He radiated deceit.

"I see you are finally well, Endymion," the Prince stated finally. They had stared at each other for what seemed like hours and Endymion got the feeling this prince did not like him anymore than he liked Diamond.

"Yes," the black-haired prince replied reluctantly.

"Can you fight?"

What a stupid question. Of _course_ he could fight. He didn't know where he learned it, but he was an excellent swordsman. "Yes," he said simply instead. It wouldn't do to insult the man just yet. He was under his control. For the time being anyway.

"Are you any good?"

"I defeated your brother easily," he replied, unable to hold back the smug tone in his voice. He had been told Sapphire was the best swordsman in Diamond's troops. It was almost disappointing to have beaten him so easily.

The pale prince's eyes narrowed. "Good," he said finally. "I'll send you into the past to work with Wiseman and his new pet, Black Lady."

Endymion didn't even blink.

"You do want revenge for what that Queen has done to you, do you not?"

He reluctantly nodded.

"Good. Only remember, you are not to kill her or Sailor Moon. They are mine."

Endymion restrained his sneer and nodded. "Understood."

"Good. You are dismissed," he said arrogantly, turning his gaze back to his wine.

Endymion felt his lip curl, but turned and walked calmly from the room.

After all of this was over, he would destroy that man. He would rule, not that overconfident fool. After all, he had been told that Sapphire was even better than his brother. That meant that Endymion was now the best swordsman on Nemesis and that included the supposed prince.

He couldn't help the smirk that flashed across his face. "Soon," he murmured as he walked the empty halls. "Soon."

**x**

King Endymion gazed at the new Serenity in surprised awe. This was something he had not expected. All of the awakened Senshi also seemed dumbstruck but the sudden turn of events. But everyone snapped out of it when Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn simultaneously bent to one knee with a hand over their hearts and their head bowed.

"Your Highness," Pluto said, and the rest of the Senshi, including the Starlights, bowed to her.

She appeared calm, though Endymion could see the slight tightening of her mouth that indicated that bowing was too much. He did not kneel, but instead bowed his head to her, as equals. "Serenity, I see much has happened," he began, hoping to ease her discomfort.

She nodded her silver head slowly. "Yes..."

He glanced at the still kneeling Senshi. "We should retire to a room more suited for a conversation. Follow me," he said and turned, leading her and the rest of the Senshi to the parlor near the throne room.

When they arrived, he gave Pluto an irritated look, and then smiled slightly at the young princess. "May I ask something, Serenity?"

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

"Are you still Usako inside too?"

She smiled softly at the nickname. "Yes, I am both Usagi and Serenity, I simply... had my powers awakened. I have always been both, but Serenity was passive before."

"Almost like multiple personalities," Uranus commented.

Serenity shrugged. "Sort of. It's more... the awareness didn't really merge until now. The memories were dampened. I was always Serenity; I was simply born under a new name. Do you understand?"

Pluto nodded. "It was not a true reincarnation. You were simply sent to grow in a new time with new parents."

She nodded in thanks at the Time Senshi. "Yes."

King Endymion looked thoughtful. "This never happened to my wife. She grew into her powers and her hair slowly grew silver, though it started when she was still in her early twenties. My memories as Endymion were always there after the fight with Beryl, but... they weren't a part of me. I don't know when they did become who I was, when I became more Endymion than Mamoru. It was that gradual. This must be a shock to you."

Serenity laughed softly and a little bitterly. "A little. Right now, I'm still reeling from the feeling of Endymion dying in my arms and taking my own life. I remembered it before of course, but the feelings weren't as strong as they are now. It had always been like it happened to a person who wasn't me, but I felt it, and now I remember it, remember the way he felt cold as his last breath left him and the agony I felt in my heart."

Endymion watched her worriedly. He had always known his past death had hurt her badly enough to cause her to kill herself, but to relive that pain again now was too painful for him to imagine. "Perhaps you should rest before we go back to your time," he suggested.

She shook her head. "No. I want to go back now."

Sailor Star Fighter was the one to reveal a small snag in their plans. "How will you explain this to your parents?"

Serenity smiled. "They know I was Princess Serenity and they know I'm Sailor Moon... but you're right, to know that I am no longer the Usagi they know... It might be a shock. But I have to tell them. I can't just disappear."

King Endymion nodded slowly. "Alright. Let me set up the security system I devised and then we shall go." He checked his watch. "Let's meet in front of the Time Gate in two hours. Is that alright?"

She nodded. "That is fine."

He turned and left the room, but not before hearing Sailor Pluto get up to follow him. He slowed to allow her to catch up without hurrying and then glanced at her. "Yes?"

"She is stronger now."

He nodded. "I know. Serenity was like that too."

"She also has a lot on her shoulders now. She can no longer go back to being a school girl."

He sighed. "You're right about that."

"I hope you save her Mamoru before she realizes that there is no turning back. That she will no longer be able to be Usagi and an ordinary girl."

"So do I."

"If this fails, Your Majesty..."

"It won't. I have faith in her."

"Like you have faith in the Queen?"

He nodded. "Of course. They are the same person, just from different times. I always had faith in Usako."

She smiled sadly. "I hope your faith is enough, King Endymion." And with those words, she turned and walked back the way she came.

Endymion stared after her with a frown. _What does that mean?_

She lay beneath the crystal shield as if asleep. As if she were dead. And it tore his heart to see her so still, so lifeless. His wife had always been so full of joy, and now she was blank, expressionless.

"Serenity," he murmured softly as he knelt beside her clear coffin and rested his head on the crystal. "I need to leave now... And I don't know when I'll be back."

He knew it was silly, talking to someone who couldn't hear him, but he had to. She was his lover, his best friend, his life.

And he missed her.

He whispered to the still form for a long while, unaware of how much time passed. He didn't even know what he was saying anymore, just murmuring nonesense about the Outers and Starlights being healed, and going back in time with her younger self.

He even confessed a growing attraction to the young version of his wife. "I'm so confused, Usako. I feel like I'm betraying you."

He didn't get an answer, but he wasn't exactly expecting one. All he knew was that maybe...

She was listening.

**x**

AN: sigh

Lovies!


	23. Chapter 22: Dedication

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 22: Dedication  
Rated: R_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SM. I don't know if I really want to own SM... After all, it would be a pain to be famous.

**X**

Endymion stared at the picture in his hand in surprise. "This is her?"

Diamond nodded. "Yes. This is the girl that will become Neo-Queen Serenity. Her name is Tsukino Usagi."

Endymion frowned as he glanced up at the Prince of Nemesis. "She looks very..." He paused, searching for the word. "Innocent."

Diamond scowled. "Looks can be deceiving! She is the one who banished you here! Took over your planet!" he snarled.

The dark prince frowned down at the picture again, uncertain. _How could this girl be the one to destroy my life? She's sweet, cheerful, and painfully innocent... _Endymion knew something wasn't right. He knew he was probably being lied to, but he wasn't certain if everything was a lie, or if most of it were true. And if it were true, he had every right to hate this little girl.

Yet the feeling he got as he gazed at her picture was not hatred. It was not hatred at all.

"Fine, Diamond. If she is the one responsible, then I will kill her," Endymion stated if only to appease the man who had him at his mercy. For now.

The white-haired prince nodded. "Good. You will work with my brother, Sapphire, and Black Lady. Together, you are to lure the Sailor Senshi out and capture their leader, Sailor Moon, who is that girl."

Endymion hesitantly nodded in acquiescence. "Fine." _Though sailor girls do not seem to be the name of any sort of group with darker intentions. It is too... cute. What the hell is going on? And who is this Black Lady?_

"You are dismissed," the arrogant Nemesis Prince stated, waving his hand.

Endymion scowled at his assumption, but left anyway without a word. He traveled the long, labyrinth-like halls towards the basement. He allowed his thoughts to wander along the way.

He wasn't certain any of them would tell him the truth. And he knew his position here was very precarious. But he couldn't get over the nagging feeling that something wasn't right. There were definitely things they weren't telling him or they were completely lying to him. How could someone named Serenity of all things be that evil?

But then again...

Names had no meaning on a person's personality, unless they changed it of course. She could simply have been named by her parents and grew up as an evil sort of child.

Though the 'Sailor Senshi' idea also led him to believe they weren't the evil that Diamond was depicting them as. That name would have been picked by the all the Senshi. It sounded too much like a school girl's fantasy, not like a group of girls hell-bent on taking over the world.

He'd follow along for now, but he'd keep his eyes and ears open to other little hints. He would not be used like some mindless puppet. After all, he _was_ the prince of the Earth. He would be ruler there. No one ruled him.

No one.

**X**

"Endymion," a voice interrupted as he entered the large, spacious room. He glanced around for the owner of the voice to find the blue-haired man that he knew to be Sapphire.

"Sapphire," he greeted reluctantly. He could never be sure of this man. He seemed so utterly loyal to Diamond and yet something was off. There was real love there. Real love between brothers, brothers brought even closer together because of pain and isolation.

Diamond, however, seemed to be breaking that bond of kinship. And Endymion was sure that Sapphire felt it.

The black-haired prince absently wondered if he had had a sibling he had loved back on Earth. He couldn't remember anything. But he had once loved someone there, of that he was certain. He felt it deep inside his heart. And he knew it wasn't a sibling. It was a lover, or a wife, or someone so important to him that he would have died to save her or him.

If this Neo-Queen had destroyed his love, this love he could not remember, would that be the reason he had been found alone on Nemesis? He didn't think he would have left someone that important to him alone there. Not willingly.

This love of his must have been killed.

And for the first time since he had awakened, Endymion felt the first stirrings of vengeful hatred towards the innocently named queen.

**X**

Serenity glanced up as the King walked into the room. He looked sober and a bit sad, and the newly awakened Princess found herself worried about him. "What's wrong, Endymion?" she asked, feeling awkward calling this man by her love's name. They were the same man though, so it wasn't as weird as it could have been.

But it was just as painful as she still wasn't over the feeling of his dying body in her arms.

He blinked and smiled slightly at her. "It is nothing to concern yourself over. I am just worried about my wife."

She nodded in understanding. "I'm sure... when we defeat them, the spell will wear off and she will awaken."

"I hope so, Serenity," he said with a sigh. "In any case, shall we go?"

Sighing, she nodded. "Yes."

**x**

Sailor Star Fighter watched helplessly as the King and the young Princess walked into the Time Gate and disappeared. She hoped they would survive to save both worlds. But that was out of her hands now. Her job was to combine her powers with the other Senshi, the Outers, her own Starlights, and the Inners to strengthen the barrier around the palace.

That was the only thing they could do for the precious Queen they all loved.

And they would do it until their lives ended.

**x**

AN: I know it's extremely short, but the ending fit well there.

Lovies!


	24. Chapter 23: The Future

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 23: The Future  
Rated: PG_

**  
Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailor Moon. I'm not nearly that talented.

**X**

"Should we travel to your home first?"

The newly awakened princess blinked at the king and sighed. "I think that might be best. I am sure my parents are worried about me."

King Endymion nodded. "I think I might remember the way."

The silver-haired young woman glanced at him in surprise. "After over a thousand years?"

He laughed. "Yes. Your house may not be standing in Crystal Tokyo but the place where it stood is now an old shrine dedicated to the Serenity line."

She blinked in utter astonishment. "I would not think that they would honor my line like that. You are the King of the Earth, I am the heir to the Moon..."

He nodded. "You are now the Earth Queen in my time. Some time ago, a man by the name of Lewis met with my wife over some matter of history. I think he wished to write a simple novel about the time of the Silver Millennium. In any case, he became so enamored with my wife and her tales that he wished to honor the Moon's royalty by dedicated a place to the Serenity line. He decided no other place would do on Earth except the place where my wife grew up, where you grew up. It's silly, but we did not wish to discourage such a gift. And it made my wife happy to see that the story of her kingdom, her mother would live on and never be forgotten again."

The princess nodded. "I see. Well, I do not think you will have to guess where I live. I can simply lead the way."

He smiled. "True, but I'd like to see if I could guide us there. It's been so long since this time... I miss being simply Mamoru."

The silver-haireded Serenity looked up at the king sadly. "Do you regret being Endymion and King?"

He shook his head. "Not exactly. I did not want the title, but something was needed to bring peace to the Earth after Serenity woke it. So we restored order to the chaos and now rule. But I only wished to live in peace with her. I was never as beautiful inside as she was. She wanted to protect everyone and bring peace to their lives. I simply agreed because I could see how much it meant to her. She didn't want the burden, but she knew with the Crystal, she was the only one capable of healing the hatred and greed in people's hearts and the only one capable of protecting them as well."

Serenity nodded, following Endymion as he started to walk in the correct direction to her house. "Do you think it was right? To take away the negativity in people? You didn't give them a choice, you simply...changed them."

Endymion hesitated. "I never thought about it, though I'm sure Serenity had. At first, I don't think she felt she had a choice. We had to erase the negative energy to heal the planet and the human race. Everyone was so full of anger and fear they were creating wraiths all on their own." He glanced at the younger version of his wife. "The Dark forces are really a creation of negativity. The evil was born from human hate and anger. Metallia was truly only an entity born from hatred here on Earth. Humans are weak and are subject to negativity, unlike Lunarians like you. Serenity refused to cleanse me, saying I wasn't prey to the darker forces of the human race."

"You believe you are."

He nodded. "Not only believe, I know I am. I feel anger and jealousy and hatred. I am easily controlled by them." He smiled a bit sadly. "I am only as good a man as I am because of my love for her and her love for me. She is blind to the darkness within me. She truly sees only the good."

Serenity smiled. "That will forever be my weakness, I think."

He nodded. "Which is why you have the Senshi and me." He cleared his throat. "In any case, Serenity wished the humans to have a new start. At first she did grant them a choice, either be cleansed or leave the Earth. Those who left went to various planets that could sustain some form of life and Nemesis was one of those planets."

"Where Prince Diamond and the Dark Moon family are from?"

Nodding, he ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Yes. You can see the mark on their forehead and the powers they possess. We sent normal humans out. It was unfortunate that a few found Nemesis. The dark energy of that planet warped the darkness within their hearts more, until they become something else. They aren't human now, though I don't disagree that they can't change for the better if they choose."

Serenity frowned thoughtfully. "I still do not believe how changing the entire population would be alright. It's almost like tyranny. My people live so long that we'd rule over the humans for thousands of years before our heir could take over."

"Yes, I suppose it is a bit like tyranny. After a few of the first ships left Earth, Serenity decided not to give them a choice of cleansing. She simply cleansed the Earth. Perhaps some of it affected me as well, though I do not think she is aware of that. She simply wanted to keep the negative powers at bay and keep Earth peaceful and full of joy. She never ruled them harshly and most of the time, the different countries have different rulers. We only oversee them. It would be too tedious to rule the entire Earth completely."

Serenity laughed. "That is true."

"No one objected to the cleansing though. Serenity has not done it since; she hasn't felt concentration of dark energy on the Earth, though people now carry a bit inside of them. I think she feels guilty for changing people's hearts. Though she had freed them from the darkness, she did it without their consent."

They walked past the park where they often met on dates, and Endymion paused to look over it. It was daylight, so there were children and young couples occupying the beautiful park, and Endymion took a moment to remember what it was like when he had been in this time so many years before.

"She may cleanse the Earth again if others such as Metallia were to threaten, but she lets them have free will of course. We aren't really a Monarchy with complete say over their very lives, we simply...help guide the other governments. Our ends almost justified the means."

"How do the people feel about Serenity's long lifespan? And yours for that matter?" She blinked. "How is it that you are able to live as long as I do, anyway?"

Endymion smiled at Serenity softly and ignoring the second question, he answered, "The people feel less afraid of the future with so little change in the rulers. Some of them are a bit bitter about it, those who are unhappy with their lives, though we try to give everyone every opportunity to be what they wish to be. Universities around the world are free for everyone, so that everyone can afford to be doctors or geneticists. Tutors are available for those who are struggling at no cost as well. The school systems in each country are basically the same, so that everyone can have an opportunity to learn and grow and make a life for themselves. Different jobs do have different pay of course, the more schooling needed for the job, the higher the pay. But poverty is extremely low. Most of the lower income jobs are held by college students looking to make money on the side. Because of our achievements, our life spans aren't mentioned often."

"What about drug use and violence?" she asked curiously.

"Also very low. Drug use is quite low as most people are happy with their lives, though there are some problems for people with chronic conditions that require pain medication to get by. Violence is limited to emotional distress usually and worldwide we find that we only get about two or three murders a year. Prisons are extremely under populated, though our justice system is rather strict. Simply people have less anger and hatred to fester on and it doesn't lead to murder as much as it used to. A lot of the crimes are committed by the mentally unstable, such as the only serial killer to surface since Serenity cleansed the Earth. He thought he was sending people to heaven."

"It sounds like a real utopia."

He nodded. "It is. Some people do find it rather boring, however. Those are the ones, usually younger people, who find the need to commit burglaries and robberies, which sometimes lead to a death or worse."

"You didn't answer me as to how you are able to live this long."

He smiled. "I apologize; I did not mean to evade the question. I inherited the Golden Crystal. I am the protector of the Earth and Helios, guardian of Elysian, helped me find it within me. It is a lot like your Silver Crystal. I am human and I think that the combination of your marriage bond to me and the Golden Crystal has allowed me to spend your life with you."

Serenity smiled softly. "I am glad. On the moon, I had worried that I would not have you too long."

He looked at her. "You worried about that?"

She nodded. "Very much. I killed myself after I watched you die, remember? And I was afraid... I was afraid that living with you for only sixty or seventy years would kill me too. It was a great fear of mine, though I was willing to risk the pain. I loved you that much."

He smiled softly. "You were always risking getting hurt just to be near the ones you love."

She blushed faintly. "Perhaps. But I loved you best."

He nodded, looking away from the park and moving away from it, knowing she'd follow. "I know that. I could see it every time you looked at me."

"You could?"

He nodded. "Yes." Walking in silence for a moment, he allowed that to sink in. "Even before we knew you were Serenity, I could see that feeling inside of you. You loved me, but it was as if it wasn't conscious. You were always so jealous of the girls I was with..."

Serenity nudged him in reproof. "Don't poke fun."

He laughed. "I wasn't. I was jealous of all the guys you had crushes on too, you know."

She smiled. "Simple crushes. I don't know; I just always felt the need to have someone there, like something was missing... something I loved and needed."

"Me."

She nodded as they paused outside her house. "Yes, you."

He looked down at her. "You look so much like her."

Blinking, she glances up at him. "Like my future self?"

He nodded, touching her cheek. "Almost exactly. You didn't age much in over a thousand years."

The newly awakened princess blushed and pulled back in embarrassment and confusion. "We should go inside."

The King didn't even blink at her retreat. He simply nodded. "As you wish."

She quickly turned and headed up the sidewalk to her front door, her mind troubled by the gentle touch of the king.

**x**

**Next Chapter:** Serenity meets her parents!

**x**

**AN:** Just a little bit of timeline building for me. Sorry it wasn't that exciting.

Lovies!


	25. Chapter 24: Homecoming

**Alone**  
_By Selenity Jade  
Chapter 24: Homecoming  
Rated: PG13_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sailor Moon, Usagi, Endymion, or any other character in this chapter. The only thing I own is the plot. I'm also not making money off of this, so please don't sue. :P

**Notes:** Yes, people. A new chapter. Yes, people. King Endymion is having problems, Prince Endymion is having problems, and the newly-awakened Serenity is having problems. But that's what's fun.

**X**

**Last Chapter:** Usagi, now Serenity, and King Endymion paused outside of her house just after he told her the story of his time.

**X**

Serenity walked into her house nervously. She did not know how she was going to explain the sudden changes that had overcome her to her human parents. How could she tell the parents who had loved and cared for her for fifteen years that she wasn't exactly their daughter anymore? Hiding what she had become wasn't an option either. Not with the silver hair and the crescent moon symbol on her forehead.

She held the door open for the King to follow her into the house and then shut it behind it with a soft audible click.

"Usagi?" she heard her mother call from upstairs before the blue-haired woman appeared at the top of them. With a startled gasp, her mother flew down the stairs to stare at her daughter. "Usagi, is that you?"

Serenity smiled sadly at her mother, tears filling her blue eyes. "Yes, it is me."

"What... happened to you?" the older woman asked, a note of fear in her voice.

"I changed, Mother."

The woman who raised Usagi studied her for a long moment before she enveloped the princess in a giant hug. "We were so worried about you."

The tension in Serenity's shoulders relaxed as she hugged her second mother back. "I am sorry I did not let you know I was leaving," she said before pulling away.

The older woman smiled softly and touched her beloved daughter's cheek. "I'm sure it was important, Usagi. Your friends were missing after all. Your father and I were just worried about you, not knowing if you were okay or if you were injured. We just learned you were Sailor Moon and then you just disappeared with that Mamoru boy chasing after you."

It had felt like six lifetimes since she had left home that night and she felt a sudden pang of guilt that she hadn't even said good-bye to her parents, the parents to Usagi, who she no longer was now. At least not completely. "I am sorry, Mother," Serenity said again.

Her mother's eyes flicked to the man behind her daughter. "Who's this?"

Serenity glanced back at King Endymion. As if he read her mind, he answered, "I am Endymion."

Usagi's mother frowned slightly in confusion. "But I thought..."

"Mamoru was Prince Endymion. I am him in your future."

The cerulean-haired woman blinked. "Future?"

Serenity sighed. "It is a long story, Mother."

"Where's Chibi-Usa?"

**x**

Endymion watched his wife's mother process the story they had just told her. She looked a bit pale and she hadn't even been told her daughter is more Serenity now than Usagi yet. Endymion decided that should wait until later.

"So now you're fighting here for the future?"

Endymion and the younger Serenity nodded. "Yes. As well as to save my Senshi, my Endymion, and Chibi-Usa."

"You'll have to fight your friends, your boyfriend, and your future daughter? How can this 'dark energy' change people like that?"

Serenity sighed. "I hope it does not come to fighting. As for the second question, it is hard for me to explain. I was bombarded by it on Nemesis, but it did not affect my personality, it only made me ill."

"That is because Serenity is immune to it," the King smoothly interrupted. He also decided against telling the mother that her daughter wasn't exactly human. "Dark energy is a force that is born from negativity. Every negative emotion or thought gives it power, but on a planet like Nemesis that _is_ dark energy or when someone is somehow surrounded by a concentrated amount, that dark energy feeds the darkness within that person. That darkness grows, ultimately changing who that person is. They no longer fight the darkness within themselves and embrace it instead."

The older woman blinked, processing that as well. Endymion understood how hard it was for her to absorb all this information at one time, but they did not have much choice. Not if they were to save Serenity's Senshi, her Mamoru, and his daughter from Diamond and this Doom Phantom. They needed to take back their forces or they would never have a chance to save his wife and her Senshi.

The younger Serenity smiled softly in sympathy at her Earth mother. "Tomorrow, King Endymion and I will come up with a plan, but I think it might be best if we retired for tonight."

Nodding, her mother gave her a sad smile. "You not only look different, but you speak and act different as well. You are wearing the same clothes, but with that hair, that symbol on your head, and your mannerisms, I don't know if you really are Usagi anymore."

Endymion knew that hurt Serenity deeply, even though the only sign of it was a slight tightening of her eyes, a sign he knew well after a thousand years of marriage to her. "I am Usagi, Mother," the young princess said softly, looking into her lap. "I am also Serenity, more completely now. I need the fusion of my lives so that I can use the Silver Crystal more completely if I have no other choice. My mother – my lunar mother – awakened me so that I could save my Endymion. But I am still Usagi."

Serenity lifted her head, tears in her eyes again. "You still see that, do you not?"

Her mother smiled and enveloped her daughter in a protective, comforting embrace. "I still love you, no matter how you are."

Endymion silently left the room to give them a chance to weep together after everything that had happened. This wasn't his time anymore, she wasn't his wife, and this world was long past gone to him.

But watching them made him hurt all over again for what had been lost and for the daughter he might never see again as she was.

**X**

She found him sitting on the railing of her back porch. She didn't approach the somber king, only stood behind him unobtrusively and watched. His strong – and still handsome after a thousand years – profile was easily glimpsed by the light of the nearly full moon. He looked sad as he stared up at the heavens and her heart ached to see such loss and heartache in the man she loved. The fact that he was a thousand years older than her own prince didn't matter, the very real pain on the face so like her own Endymion tore at her soul.

Perhaps it did not matter that this Endymion wasn't hers; they were the same man to her heart, as if the time they spent a thousand years ago, here in the present as Mamoru and Usagi, and in the future as rulers of the Earth might have tied their souls together in such a way it was impossible to separate them now. Or maybe she just loved Endymion, whatever form he assumed. He was always the same, after all. Just a little different in appearance.

"Are you feeling better, Serenity?" the soft gruff voice of the king asked. She should have known he would sense her behind him. Not even necessarily because of who she was to him, but because he also had powers beyond that of a human.

"A little," she admitted. "I am relieved she still loves me even as I am now."

He nodded, glancing at her with those piercing cobalt eyes. "I do not think parents would stop loving their children just because of a few changes."

"Perhaps not, but I was still worried. I am vastly different now."

The King smiled wistfully. "Not so different, Usako. Not so different at all."

Serenity smiled at the love in the name he called her. He had never given her a nickname when she lived on the moon, but he had said her name with the same loving care then as he said 'Usako' now. "May I ask you something personal?"

He blinked before smiling in acquiescence. "Of course."

"In your time, do you see your wife as Usagi with a name change or as Serenity with time spent as Usagi?"

The man looked away, but not before he saw the pain the memory of his wife brought him. "Neither. She is Usako to me, not because she was named Usagi, but because that is what I called her, and that name simply tells her I love her every time I say it. It does not matter what her name is, she is just Usako to me. Perhaps if we had spent more time together when we were truly young when you lived on the moon, I might have come up with a different pet name for you, and I may have called you that instead. But I didn't, so it's Usako. You'll always be Usako to me. I cannot help but call you that. If it upsets you that I am not your Endymion when I call you that-"

"No, please. It does not upset me," Serenity interrupted, coming up beside him and leaning forward against the rail. "I was simply wondering if you see your wife as two separate identities."

He gave her a half-smile. "No more than I see myself as separate people."

Laughing softly, Serenity had to admit her concern over how the people she loved would see her were unfounded. They loved her and it didn't matter to them – or him – how she was named, or looked, because she was the same where it counted. "You are right, Your Majesty. I should not worry so much about it. I am who I am, whether it's Usagi or Serenity, and no one is going to love me because of only one of those 'identities'."

Sighing, he touched her shoulder. "Don't call me 'Your Majesty', please."

She looked up into his sorrowful eyes and nodded. "I am sorry."

"You are trying to distance yourself from me."

Looking away, she murmured softly, "I do not think that-"

"Usako, I spent a thousand years with you and I know when you're being distant."

She sighed. "I am confused," she finally admitted after a long pause.

"Ah." He turned his body to face her, leaning back against the rail.

"I... I feel like I should be scrambling to get my Endymion back and I am not doing that. When I am here with you like this, the heartache of knowing he is with the enemy doesn't hurt so much. I feel like I am betraying him because I feel for you more strongly than I should."

The King was startled into laughter, the sound tickling her ears because of its deep rhythmic beauty. He had always had a beautiful laugh. "Usako, don't you think I feel the same? You are younger, but you're still my wife, and I miss her so much. I haven't been able to hug her or touch her in months, and I have never been without the sound of her voice for more than a few days. It was tearing me apart before you arrived and then suddenly I just want to touch you, hear you laugh, taste you. Gods, Serenity, I feel like I am betraying my wife because I am falling in love all over again with the girl she once was!" he cried, grabbing her wrist in his larger hand.

"Endymion," she murmured, watching him fight back tears. It had to be hard for the older Mamoru to be so alone. He had always feared being completely alone, because no matter how often he pushed everyone away, that was his one true fear. He was utterly alone. No matter his age, he was still Endymion, still Mamoru, and he was hurting and scared. She did the only thing she could think of to comfort him.

She kissed him.

**X**

**Next Chapter:** Prince Endymion's activities and introduction to Black Lady. Oh, and maybe what happened AFTER she kissed him.

**X**

**AN:** Don't ask. I don't know, you know? Or maybe I do know, and you'll never know.

Lovies!


End file.
